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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28867482">Tony's Ace</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmandaWilkie/pseuds/AmandaWilkie'>AmandaWilkie</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, Slow Burn, Violence, depictions of torture</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 06:15:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>94,498</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28867482</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmandaWilkie/pseuds/AmandaWilkie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony and "Ace", as he dubbed her, have been best friends since they attended MIT together as teenagers. They've grown up over the years and are inseparable, attached at the hip. However, they've never crossed the line of best friends. What happens when they go through life changing events, both alone and together?</p>
<p>The story begins 5 years before Iron Man and will continue through Endgame. It's gonna be a long haul :)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tony Stark/Original Female Character(s), Tony Stark/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>470</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>309</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>The story begins 5 years prior to the events of the first Iron Man movie. We'll get to Iron Man quickly enough, but we have to set the foundations for the story first ;) Some very important stuff will happen in these 5 years. (It'll include some large time jumps, you'll see)</p>
<p>Rewrote the first chapter (already) to change the pov a bit, as well as add a little more ;) </p>
<p>Also, this is my first time writing anything. Tips, comments, and criticisms are more than welcome.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You slowly limped along the blinding, bland, endless, and unbelievably hot desert sand looking for any sign of civilization. You were covered in blood, still bleeding from various slices in your back and gunshot wounds along your right side. You counted two shots in your right arm, one in your bicep the other in your forearm, one just below your ribs, and one in your thigh. You had been limping painfully in a straight line for what seems like a week, but it has only been a day. You could feel the dehydration catching up with you, slowing your pace and making you attempt to lick the dry cracks on your lips away. You stopped for a few moments to rest, gently stretching your burnt and peeling body. You massaged your cramping legs for a few minutes, focusing on your left as it has been taking the brunt of your weight for the duration of your journey. When the cramping subsided you forced yourself up painfully, praying you’ll find relief soon.</p>
<p>You continued walking for a few more hours before you felt your body finally begin to shut down. You carefully dropped to the ground, not wanting to aggravate your wounds anymore. As you felt the bright sun burning your skin somehow even more than it was, your eyes drifted closed as you thought about everything that led to this moment, not registering the slight rumble travelling through the ground beneath you...</p><hr/>
<p>
  <i>3 Years Ago...<i></i></i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>
    <i></i>
  </i>
</p>
<p>
  <i></i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>May 12th, 2003<i></i></i>
</p>
<p>
  <i></i>
</p>
<p>You looked up from where you were hunched over a pile of metal, spotting Tony’s feet peeking from underneath his 1932 Flathead Roadster. You check your watch and sigh, standing up while wiping your grease covered hands on an old rag. “Tony! I’m leaving now for Afghanistan. I won’t be back for a week, so get your stinky ass over here for a hug!”</p>
<p>“I’ll have you know, my ass is quite lovely and very clean.” He cheekily replies while sliding out from underneath the car. He holds up his hands for you to pull him up, you walk over and help haul him up with a small groan. </p>
<p>“Yeah, yeah whatever. Just give me a hug so I’m not late.” You say with a smile as you pull him in, squeezing him tight. </p>
<p>“Be careful. No getting shot or something” He says, trying to go for humor when you both know he’s actually worried. You hug him a little tighter in hopes of reassuring him a bit. </p>
<p>“Don’t worry, I’ll be back in no time. Who else is gonna keep you from falling off the deep end?” You pull back and ruffle his hair while he tries to swat your hand away with a grin. He turns away shaking his head, going back to the Roadster. </p>
<p>“You got everything? I don’t need you calling me saying you forgot your underwear again”</p>
<p>“That was one time! It was your fault for kicking me out so you could fuck some bimbo. So much for ‘Hey, let’s have a sleepover like the old days.’” You huff indignantly. </p>
<p>He laughs as he slides back underneath the car, waving as he does so. You grin and leave his workshop, jogging up the spiral staircase into the living room. You grab your bag by the door and open it, right to the face of Pepper. She jumps a bit and you laugh. “Hey Pepper, make sure he doesn’t do anything too stupid while I’m gone please. We both know he’s oh so lost without me.”</p>
<p>She laughs at that and replies mock seriously “If he’s like this with you here, I shudder to think how he’s gonna be when you’re across the planet.”</p>
<p>“He’s gonna miss my hugs and get grumpy. Bet you ten bucks he’s like an angry snapping turtle by the time I’m back.”</p>
<p>“I guarantee it. For as much as he isn’t affectionate, he loves your hugs. I gotta go get him to sign some things, have a safe trip.” She gives you a brief hug and continues inside. You head down the steps toward the car where Happy awaits. You put your bag in the trunk and climb in the back. </p>
<p>“Hey Happy, thanks for taking me to the airport.” You greet him with a smile as he looks up in the rearview mirror. </p>
<p>“Just doing my job, it’s no issue Ace.” He says with a wink. You laugh a little at the use of your nickname, Tony gave it to you many years ago. He says you’re the ace in his back pocket, his best card. It’s a nice sentiment. The car pulls off and you relax into the seat, drifting into a less than peaceful nap, both eager and nervous for your trek to Afghanistan.</p><hr/>
<p>You wake up as the car pulls to a stop on the runway, you thank Happy as you get out and head towards the private jet knowing he would get your bags. As you near you look up the stairs to see Rhodey waiting at the top, you smile at him as you continue to climb the stairs towards him. He steps to the side to let you on first then follows you on, taking his crisp hat off as he did so. </p>
<p>“You’re so much easier to escort than Tony. You don’t leave me standing out there for hours at a time.” He laughs as you both get settled in the plush seats. </p>
<p>“Don’t I know it.” You laugh with him. “I don’t see why I need an escort to go between different bases though. You’d think it’d be fairly safe to travel between them.”</p>
<p>“The roadways between bases are often targeted by insurgents. You’ll be traveling through some pretty dangerous areas with important products, the military wants to make sure the troops get the supplies they need.”</p>
<p>“I still don’t think it’s necessary, but I appreciate it anyways I guess.” You lean back in the seat and pull your laptop out to get some work done. You answer dozens of emails, go over schematics Tony wanted a second opinion for, and schedule future appointments. By the time you hit a nice stopping point the pilot announces the plane is beginning its descent. You look out the window and watch as the clouds give way to sprawling dessert in nervous fascination. </p>
<p>“You ready?” Rhodey interrupts your ogling of the view. You look over at him and nod, not trusting your voice to convey any confidence. You were severely lacking in that department at the moment. </p>
<p>The plane lands with a little bump as you both get up and head towards the door. The next few minutes are a flurry of activity as you’re escorted to an awaiting caravan and seated inside the humvees. You end up in the same humvee as Rhodey, him sitting in the passenger seat while you sit behind him. The caravan pulls off with the rumbling of engines and heads to the first base to drop off needed new high-tech medical supplies. </p>
<p>After a several hour awkward ride, you arrive at the base. Supplies are unloaded as you meet with the base medical personnel to explain the various pieces of technology and teach them how to properly use them. When you’re sure they understand the complexities of the equipment you head back to where Rhodey said he’d be waiting for you. He spots you as you walk out and meets you by one of the humvees. </p>
<p>“So, are we off to the next base now or are we staying put?” You ask, noticing how he isn’t dressed in the tactical gear he was for travelling. </p>
<p>“We’re staying put, it’ll be nighttime soon. The next base is too far away to reach safely before nightfall. We’ll be bunking with the soldiers from the caravan in the extra barracks. We’ll hit two bases every day starting tomorrow, that way we can fit all of them in the week we have.”</p>
<p>“Alrighty, works for me. I’m gonna go clean up a bit and catch some sleep. I’ll see you again tomorrow. Goodnight Rhodey Toady” You say with a wink as you start walking towards the barracks he indicated to while he was talking. </p>
<p>“Goodnight.” He replies with a chuckle.</p><hr/>
<p>The company of soldiers and humvees followed the two bases a day schedule with relative ease for the next few days. You’d leave early in the mornings, reach the first base by noon, spend a few hours teaching the personnel about the tech and have lunch, then you’d leave and reach the second base by nightfall then repeat the process. It was simple yet exhausting, allowing little sleep between travelling for long gruelling hours in the desert heat. </p>
<p>Today was the day before you’d be heading home. There was some chatter about possible insurgent activity along the route to the first base of the day. Everyone settled into the humvees more alert and tense than previous days. We travelled a little over 2 hours in silence before everyone started to relax a bit. Rhodey had started up a guessing game to settle everyone’s minds. We were all laughing at each other when the first explosion rocked the line of humvees. </p>
<p>All the soldiers immediately jumped into action. The driver slammed the breaks, grabbed his gun and got out while ordering the soldier in the back next to you to protect you. Rhodey jumped out with the driver and started adding to the deafening sounds of gunfire surrounding us. More explosions rocked the earth as the soldier next to you pulled you down and covered you with her own body. She yelled for you to stay down and started to sit up to go help the others when there was suddenly a spray of gunfire coming through the windshield. A bullet pierced her head and she slumped back over on top of you, her hot, sticky blood spilling all over your body. As more gunfire sprayed into the vehicle you opened your door and leapt out, hitting the ground with a harsh thud. </p>
<p>You looked around for cover as guns and explosions went off all around you. You spotted some boulders about 50 yards away from where you stood looking seemingly safe from all of the destruction. As you were about to sprint to the cover you heard a dull thud in the humvee behind you. You spun around just in time to be blown back several yards, landing on your arm with a sickening crack. You painfully dragged yourself up, reorienting yourself and shaking your fuzzy head clear. Blood was pouring over your left eye from a deep cut as you desperately searched for the sweet relief of cover. You spotted them much closer than they were before, slowly standing you pushed through the pain to the boulders and slumped against them. You cradled your arm in immense pain praying that Rhodey was ok and that you’d all make it out of here alive. </p>
<p>You sat there for seemingly forever before the gunfire and explosions died down for a second. In the brief silence you heard hurried footsteps heading towards you. Gathering up your courage and gritting your teeth against the pain you sat up to peek around the boulders, hoping it was Rhodey or another soldier. Just as you looked around them the butt of a gun came flying at your temple with no mercy. Unable to react in time it slammed into your head and everything went black, all pain and thoughts fading disturbingly fast.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The aftermath of the attack on the caravan.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>1 hour after the attack…<i></i></i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>
    <i></i>
  </i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>
    <i></i>
  </i>
</p>
<p>Rhodey stood there feeling numb inside, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the hunk of burnt scrap that was the humvee he left one of his best friends in. He couldn’t even bring himself to help the other able-bodied soldiers gather the wounded into the remaining humvees. They were hit hard, screams and groans of pain could be heard all around the destruction. They were barely able to run off the insurgents, and were now waiting for reinforcements and help to arrive. Rhodey zeroed on to the heavily burnt and unrecognizable corpse inside the mangled heap. He was slowly coming to terms to the fact that his friend was dead, but was snapped out of his thoughts as he saw a glint around the corpse’s neck. He carefully leaned in to examine the object hanging. </p>
<p>Dog Tags.</p>
<p>He let out a guilty breath of relief, Ace wasn’t a soldier. She didn’t wear dog tags. With that realization he spun around, borderline desperately searching for her among the crowd of soldiers. He couldn’t see her anywhere, nor was she laying anywhere on the ground wounded or worse. A knot of dread and worry started to pool in his gut as he started looking around what used to be the humvee for any possible clues as to where she ended up. He spotted some blood and footprints about 12 feet away on the passenger side, and followed the trail up to a cluster of boulders. He held his breath as he neared, scared about what he might find. He rounded the edge of the boulders and looked confused as he saw a bigger puddle of blood but no Ace. </p>
<p>He felt his heart drop into his shoes when he spied another set of footprints coming from the direction the insurgents attacked from. He saw the same footprints also heading back in that same direction with an additional trail of something being dragged along. He felt sick to his stomach as he realized she had been captured. He quickly ran off to tell his superiors to set up a search and rescue party as soon as possible. </p>
<p>
  <i>26 hours later….<i></i></i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>
    <i></i>
  </i>
</p>
<p>
  <i></i>
</p>
<p>Rhodey stared at the satellite phone in his hand, dreading the call he was about to make. The search and rescue party came up empty on the initial search. He knew he had to call Tony and tell him what happened, he was her emergency contact and the only one close enough to be considered family. She didn’t have anyone else except Rhodey himself, that somehow made the whole situation even worse. He released a heavy grief-filled sigh as he dialed Tony’s number. He picked up after a few rings.</p>
<p>
  <i>“Hey Rhodey, I thought you all would be on the plane by now. What’s up with the sat phone? I know for a fact the plane has working wifi. I installed it myself, should work perfectly.”</i>
</p>
<p>Rhodey sighed again and began in a solemn tone. “Tony… We’re not gonna be coming home today.” </p>
<p>He could hear Tony shuffle over the line before he replied with a false sense of bravado. <i>“Ok. Is it taking longer than you guys thought it would to teach the medics?”</i></p>
<p>“No, Tony... The caravan was attacked.” Rhodey paused to gather his thoughts before continuing. Tony was deathly silent. “She was taken by a group of insurgents.”</p><hr/>
<p>
  <i>29 hours after the attack…<i></i></i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>
    <i></i>
  </i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>
    <i></i>
  </i>
</p>
<p>Tony couldn’t breathe. He sat frozen in his workshop, processing what Rhodey told him. The caravan was attacked, she tried to run from the danger, but then got snatched by terrorists. He had never felt the sense of dread that he felt now, he could feel the giant pit in his stomach deepen each second. He wanted to cry, scream, throw things off his workshop tables. But he just sat frozen, staring into nothing. He had sat there like that since Rhodey hung up, not before promising he would keep searching until he found her. </p>
<p>Tony was finally ripped from his thoughts as he heard his workshop doors whoosh open. He looked up to see a crying Pepper standing there with the most heart-wrenching look on her face, one that matched his own. She took one look at him before throwing herself in his arms sobbing hard. Her sobs finally broke Tony out of his shocked stupor and he soon followed, crying relentlessly for the first time in many years. </p>
<p>“Rhodey will find her Tony, she’ll be ok.” Pepper finally got words out through the tears. Tony didn’t reply, he just hugged her a little tighter and continued to cry. Eventually, they slowly made their way to the couch he kept in the lab, where they collapsed and spent the night grieving for their friend’s suffering. It felt like nothing other than a nightmare.</p><hr/>
<p>
  <i>A few hours after the attack…<i></i></i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>
    <i></i>
  </i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>
    <i></i>
  </i>
</p>
<p>You woke up with a pounding headache and sharp pain in your left arm. You kept your eyes closed while you tried to determine where you were. You couldn’t hear anything except for the slow dripping of water. You sniffed the air, but instead of the antiseptic you expected to smell in a hospital room, you smelled musty dirt. You finally cracked your eyes open slowly, the action causing a throbbing pain just above your left eye across your eyebrow. As you carefully looked ahead of you, you saw you were in what looked like a jail cell with rusty iron bars as the front wall. You slowly sat up off the completely dirt ground, being careful with your poorly wrapped broken arm. You studied it for a minute, thankful that it had at least been set. You noticed you were still covered in the bloody clothes from the attack, definitely not at a hospital of any kind. </p>
<p>You went back to taking in your surroundings, the other 3 walls looked carved out of rock and dirt like a cave, there was a toilet in one corner and no bed anywhere to be seen. You got up slowly and went to the toilet cautiously, walking as quietly as you could to not attract any attention from anyone possibly around. You peered into it, scrunching your nose at the state of it. The bowel was covered by mold on the sides, the bottom of the bowel was a giant hole unlike a normal toilet, and it didn’t have a proper toilet seat. It was basically a fancy hole in the ground with the function of a porta potty, the hole beneath it was so deep you couldn’t see the bottom. You grimaced and moved back to the other side of the cell, sliding down against the cold wall.</p>
<p>You stared up at the rocky ceiling trying to piece together what happened. You fuzzily recalled the attack, the soldier getting killed above you, the humvee blowing up and sending you flying, then recalled sprinting to the boulders and hiding. Anything after that is blank. By the throbbing in your head and the lump on your temple you suspected you were knocked out by something. </p>
<p>You were about to fall back asleep, exhausted by everything that has happened, when you heard a metal clang followed by the squeak of hinges. You quickly sat up, regretting it as your vision swam, when you heard footsteps and foreign voices. Three men in ragged robes stopped at your cell door. The one on the left smiled when he noticed you were awake and said something to the other two in a language you didn’t understand. You furrowed your brow in confusion as they laughed. The one on the left finally stopped and addressed you in a heavy accent. </p>
<p>“Welcome, I am glad you are awake. It will make things much easier.” He said with a terrifying smirk plastered on his face. </p>
<p>“What do you want from me?” You croaked in a weak voice, throat terribly dry. You winced at the sound of it, so much for trying to sound brave. </p>
<p>He laughed then addressed the other two again, this time in english so you could understand. You quickly realised it was just to terrify you even more. “Grab her, bring her to the laboratory. We will start experimenting right away.”</p>
<p>The men opened the cell and stalked towards you steadily, you quickly scooted back as far as you could go. They grabbed you harshly causing shooting pain in your arm while you tried to break free. You managed to kick one in the shins and he released you, but before you could do anything else the shorter of the two grabbed your broken arm directly. You brokenly screamed in pain, the taller one taking the opportunity to grab your other arm and they dragged you out of the cell. </p>
<p>You stopped struggling as they kept dragging you, trying to save your arm from anymore pain. They dragged you through multiple doors and various hallways, all made of uneven rock. You were able to determine that you were in some kind of underground base, most likely made from a natural cave system. You passed many insurgents, all of which stared and sneered at you as you were dragged by.<br/>
Eventually you were taken into a dark room that resembled a lab, you struggled a bit more as they strapped you down to a table. They left the room once they were sure you couldn’t escape and left you to sit there terrified about what was happening. A few minutes later the door opened again, revealing a short and stubby man in a dingy lab coat. He didn’t say a thing to you as he walked around the room preparing various bottles and gathering syringes. As he made his way over to you you spoke up. “Why am I here?”</p>
<p>“You will be useful to us. We will use your body.” He stared straight into your eyes, his cold ones showing no emotion as he spoke. His vague answer sent a spike of fear down your spine.</p>
<p>Your voice shook a bit as you replied, breaking eye contact. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean? What are you gonna to do to me?” </p>
<p>He didn’t reply, opting to prepare a syringe and approach you with it. You flailed as he approached, successfully keeping him from injecting you. He barked out some orders in a foreign language and 4 men ran in. They gathered around you and held you down as you struggled in vain. He aimed the syringe and plunged it into the side of your neck and injected the substance in. He pulled back and studied you for a minute as nothing happened, you didn’t feel anything. He smiled evilly. “Wait for it. It will work soon.”</p>
<p>You were about to call him some very unpleasant things when suddenly you were enveloped in immense burning pain. It felt as though your veins were burning on the inside. You screamed in pain, the feeling nothing like you’ve ever experienced before. You strained against the straps on the table as the pain flooded through you. You broke out into a pouring sweat as you screamed your throat painfully raw until you could see the darkness creeping in on the sides of your vision. You thanked whoever was up there as you were finally put out of your misery.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Please let me know what you think so far! I'm unnecessarily nervous about actually posting a story lol. Comments, questions, and criticisms are most welcome.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ace wakes up after the injection.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When you finally awoke the first thing you noticed was the dull throbbing ache throughout your entire body and the cold ground beneath you. You opened your eyes to see you were back in the cell you were originally in. You slowly stretched your taut muscles and winced when the injection site on your neck sent a quick spike of pain down your neck. You raised your good hand to feel it, as you reached it you felt a small hot welt where the needle had entered. You sighed and dropped your hand. As you sat up you were hit with the sudden urgent need to pee. You eyed the hole of a toilet with distaste, swallowing your pride as you approached it. You had to awkwardly crouch over the toilet as you used it, otherwise you’d just fall in. When you finished you made the observation that you had no toilet paper. You dreaded the inevitable yeast infection.</p>
<p>You looked more closely around the cell and spotted a tray with a somehow crunchy looking blob of food and a cup of water. You take the tray back to the corner and sniff the food, you  scrunch your nose up at the smell and decide to skip it. You aren’t that hungry anyways. You then eyed the water, it was slightly dirty looking but you knew you had no other choice. Beggars can’t be choosers. It was probably the cleanest the water got around here anyways. You sip the water, hoping to ease the case of cottonmouth you found yourself with. You let a little sigh of relief escape you as the cool water touched your parched mouth, thankful for the coating of wetness. </p>
<p>You finished the water and leaned against the wall of the cell, trying to think of when you could possibly escape. You knew with your arm broken, you stood no chance. You’d have to wait until it’s healed at the very least. That brought up another point of concern though, by the time it’s healed you’ll likely be suffering from severe malnutrition. You’d be too weak to escape then too. At that realization, a knot of dread hit your stomach with sudden force nearly making you throw up in the process. You felt hopeless as you realized you’d have to wait for rescue. You’re gonna die here. </p>
<p>As the first tears fell, you wished you were back in Malibu with Tony. You wished you were with him in his lab, listening to him threaten to dismantle DUM-E and U as they tried to be helpful but ultimately failed. You wished you could hear him and JARVIS throw snarky comments back and forth while you tried to work on your own project and ignore them. You wished you could see him get up and sing along to the blaring music, grabbing your hand and pulling you to dance with him ridiculously. Ultimately, you wished you were safe in his arms again. He was the only one you felt completely comfortable and carefree around. You desperately missed your best friend.</p>
<p>You were crying steadily when you heard the clang of metal that meant someone was coming. You hastily wiped your tears, you wouldn’t show them your fear and sadness. You listened to the footsteps coming towards your cell, only one pair today. The same English-speaking man who had come last time came to a stop in front of your door. He stared at you in silence, so you took the time to log his appearance. He was tall with a long beard, he wore old robes that looked scratchy, and some kind of head covering. His hair was black and unkempt, his almost black eyes were cold and unconcerned as he took in your appearance. After ages of us staring at and studying one another he finally spoke. </p>
<p>“Good, you are finally awake. You slept longer than others in the past. That is a good sign. I knew you would be the one.”</p>
<p>You furrowed your brow in confusion and asked hesitantly with a croaky voice “What’d you do to me? How long was I out?” Your confusion only grew when his face broke into an evil smile. </p>
<p>“You slept for six days. Your body spent that time adapting to the formula. You are ready for the next dose. It should not make you sleep as long this time.” He spoke as he was looking at you like you were an anomaly, it unnerved you. You didn’t have any time to question what the formula was, or to wonder about how many others there had been before you. He barked words out in another language, Arabic you thought. Footsteps came hurriedly, at least three pairs maybe more. Four men stopped next to the man and he barked more orders out.</p>
<p>You felt fear grow in you as the mean unlocked your cell and stepped inside, closing in on you in the corner. They grabbed you as you flailed and screamed trying to keep them away and make them drop you. They dragged you roughly out of the cell and through the winding hallways to the lab like room from before. The fear you felt grew ten-fold as you remembered the agony you felt. You continued to struggle to the point they couldn’t strap you down. The man barked more orders and you were dragged back off the table and forced to kneel. One of the other men left and returned a few minutes later with a whip, handing it to the man in charge. Your eyes widened as you realized what was about to happen to you.</p>
<p>You were forcefully spun so your back was to the man, your shirt roughly pulled off and left hanging around your broken arm. You were still struggling when the first crack of the whip sounded through the air and a sharp stinging pain spread across your back in a line. You cried out in pain and felt blood start to roll down your back as you were whipped over and over again. You were a sobbing, bloodied mess by the time they were done. The pain you felt on your back was almost as bad as when you were injected with god knows what. </p>
<p>The man leaned in close to your ear and spoke with as much venom as he could muster “You will not continue to struggle. You will do as you are told. You are nothing but a lab rat, you will be treated as such. Do you understand?”</p>
<p>You nodded brokenly as you were dragged up to the table again, this time not fighting as you were strapped down. You felt the blood pool beneath you as you were forced to lay on your stinging back. The man who injected you before eventually came in, all prepped with the syringe. He approached you, watching carefully for any signs of a struggle. He stepped forward and aimed the syringe to the welt from the previous session. He purposely pushed the needle in slowly, the pain in the welt causing you to weakly cry out again. He then injected you with what you assumed was the formula. After a few minutes, the burning sensation attacked your veins with no mercy. You screamed and cried as the pain grew until you passed out again.</p><hr/>
<p>
  <i>1 week after the attack…<i></i></i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>
    <i></i>
  </i>
</p>
<p>
  <i></i>
</p>
<p>Tony stared into the bottom of his glass of scotch, the fifth one he’d drained in the last hour. He felt truly helpless for the first time in his life, this wasn’t something he could just build a machine to fix. He couldn’t just design a clever solution for the grief he felt. He waited everyday for Rhodey’s call for any updates on Ace, so far nothing. No demand for ransom, no chatter, no… body. He refused to believe she was dead, he felt it in his gut that she wasn’t. Obie was trying to get him to accept the possibility she wasn’t coming home and force him to start looking at replacements for her. He refused to replace her, hell he made that position specifically for her. No one else is gonna have it. He gripped the glass in his hand with white knuckles, trying to get a hold of his emotions. His thoughts were interrupted by footsteps behind him, he turned to see the latest girl in a string of one-night stands. He quickly escaped to his lab and left her for JARVIS and Pepper to deal with. </p>
<p>He stalked to his monitors, looking at the data running. He had every algorithm he could think of running to try to find Ace, it was very illegal. He didn’t care though, he was gonna find her. He also had hooks in any chatter that may pop up about her. He went back to hacking other countries' satellites so he can expand his search and have more resources. He couldn’t believe that she’d just disappear, someone somewhere had her. He’d find her, no matter how long it takes.</p><hr/>
<p>Rhodey slumped down onto his cot, head in his hands. He felt responsible for Ace, he was supposed to be there to protect her and left her to get kidnapped instead. He had been running search parties everyday since she was taken, trying his hardest to find her. He was so tired and disheartened, but still had to call Tony. He called every night even though he had no updates, he mainly checked in with him. He knew Tony was taking this really hard, Ace was his best friend. The two had been inseparable for as long as he could remember, she completed their little trio of friends. He sighed heavily and dug out his sat phone, it didn’t even ring once before it was answered. </p>
<p><i>“Any updates?”</i> Was the first thing out of Tony’s mouth. Rhodey hated to hear the desperate hope in his voice every time. </p>
<p>“No, nothing. We haven’t seen hide nor hair of her or the group we believe is responsible.” Rhodey said with a dejected voice. He hated being the bearer of bad news. After a moment of silence he continued “How are you holding up buddy?”</p>
<p><i>“I’m fine. My best friend is missing, taken by fucking terrorists, but I’m completely fine.”</i> Tony responded heatedly and sarcastically. </p>
<p>Rhodey sighed “Yeah, dumb question. We’ll find her Tony, stay strong for her. She’s gonna need us. We need to be strong for her.”</p>
<p><i>“I know, God I can’t imagine what she’s going through.”</i> Tony said solemnly.</p>
<p>“Yeah… How are Pepper and Happy doing? I know they weren’t super close, but they were good friends.”</p>
<p>
  <i>“They’re doing ok, Pepper cries when she thinks I won't notice. Happy is extra quiet while he’s driving. I tried giving them time off but they refused, I think they’re just worried I’ll do something stupid.”</i>
</p>
<p>Rhodey decides to go for a little humor to lighten the mood. “When don’t you do something stupid? It’s a valid concern.”</p>
<p><i>“Haha, very funny. I just enjoy life while you guys focus on, <b>ugh</b>, responsibilities.”</i> Tony says dramatically.</p>
<p>
  <i>
    
  </i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>
    <i>“Yeah yeah Tones, I gotta go now. Responsibilities call. Hang in there, we’ll find her.” </i>
  </i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>
    <i></i>
  </i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>
    <i></i>
  </i>
</p>
<p><i>“Yeah, we will. Stay safe Rhodey.”</i>  Tony says seriously. Rhodey knows he couldn’t handle losing him on top of Ace.</p>
<p>“I will.” Rhodey hangs up and sighs looking at the ceiling of the tent he was residing in. He lays back on his cot and closes his eyes, praying for a sign of Ace tomorrow. They all needed her.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'd like to say a quick thanks for the love this story has gotten so far, it's heartwarming. I hope you all continue to enjoy it! </p>
<p>Questions, comments, criticisms, etc are more than welcome!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ace settles into a new routine.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When consciousness finally returned, you cracked your eyes open and took in the now familiar cage. The ache in your body was immense, everything hurt. Your broken arm hurt the worst, closely followed by the still fresh slices the whip had created. You barely noticed the pain from the cut above your left eye anymore, it had started healing in the 6 days you had been unconscious before. You determined you hadn’t been out for as long as last time, or else the slices caused by the whip would be scabbed and the cut on your eye would of been more healed by now. Your stomach suddenly decided it was the perfect time to add another problem on top of everything else, it released a loud rumble of hunger accompanied by a little pain. </p>
<p>You quickly scanned the cell looking for a tray of food. You let out a little breath of air as you spotted it by the door, nearly identical as last time. You carefully slid your shirt back over your head from where it was left hanging on your arm and gingerly stood up to grab the tray, feeling all of the deep slices stretching painfully. You grabbed the tray and made your way back to the corner, sitting with your back off the wall. You shoveled the bland pile of crunchy mush into your mouth like a ravenous creature. When you finished you guzzled the cup of water to wash the taste away and treat your raw throat. </p>
<p>You sat there for what felt like hours, just staring at the wall. Eventually, you slid the tray to the side and carefully lay down on your right side, going back to staring at the wall thinking about the painful lashes of the whip as you fought back futilely. You had felt the fire drain from you with each contact, further snuffed by the actual fire in your veins from whatever they were pumping you full of. </p>
<p>You felt hopeless and defeated, ready to give in.</p>
<p>Tony’s face suddenly flashed across your mind, and with it came a wave of fierce determination. You were gonna get out of here, you weren’t gonna be their rag-doll lab rat. You made your mind up right there that you’ll fight until your last breath, you’ll take the pain and use it as fuel. The fire was back, burning as a bonfire. They weren’t gonna break you like they did before, they won’t see your pain anymore. All they will see is someone strong, who can take what they serve and then some. </p>
<p>The tell-tale clang of the heavy metal door rang throughout the silence. You lift your heated eyes towards the front of your cage, waiting for the man to make his appearance. He comes to a slow stop staring you down, with a smug smirk on his face. You spy the whip at his side, waiting to be used on you. He addresses you with cold authority in his voice “Get up. Your next dose is due.”</p>
<p>“No” He looks taken aback by the sudden coldness and determination reflected in your hoarse voice. His shock quickly turns into angry delight and he barks out orders like before. His face takes on that evil smile as men come into your cell and harshly pull you to your knees. </p>
<p>“I was hoping you would say that.” He says with a laugh, his smile widening. You didn’t fight back, you just stared into his eyes with the most defiance you could muster. You showed no emotion on your face, determined to keep your fear and pain locked inside of you.</p>
<p>He stepped forward letting the whip unravel slowly as he stalked towards you, keeping eye contact the entire way. When he neared you were once again spun around and your shirt was ripped over your head. You kept the emotionless mask on your face throughout the process, not even making a noise when your broken arm was jostled. </p>
<p>You heard his arm raise and braced yourself as the crack of the whip rang in your ears. The whip made harsh contact with your still raw skin, sending pain sprawling across your back. You clenched your jaw to keep from crying out, which made the man smile. He was gonna get to have even more fun than last time. The whip came down four more times in quick succession, but you never broke and held all sounds of pain in.</p>
<p>“This is much more fun. I will break you. I promise.” He said between whippings. He said something to one of the men holding you, in an instant the air was forced out of you as a foot landed itself into your stomach. You involuntarily let out a small grunt of pain, causing the man to laugh. </p>
<p>“Fuck. You.” You spat, breathing heavily. This earned you three more kicks and many more cracks of the whip. Your back felt like grated cheese at this point, you could feel each of the crisscrossing messy cuts. The torture went on for a few more minutes, but you didn’t let any more sounds out and managed to keep your tears in. </p>
<p>“He will just come here. You will get the dose.” The man said breathing heavily from the exertion. He spoke to the men, you assumed to send one of them to retrieve the doctor who injects you. You were dropped and fell limp to the ground, completely drained. You laid there in pain, holding your tears in as much as possible. </p>
<p>The brief hiatus was ended by the returning of the men, along with the doctor. The doctor greeted the head honcho and you finally caught something in their words, a name: Nasir. You finally had a name to give to your torturer. Nasir indicated to you and spoke some more with the doctor, who nodded along and produced a syringe from his pocket. </p>
<p>You were once again held down, but this time you fought as much as you could. You flopped around on the ground and kicked out as much as you could. You were causing yourself agony, your arm and your back protesting every single move. But, you kept fighting until Nasir had to help hold you down. With his added power you were unable to move, all of the men basically laying across your body to keep you still. The doctor approached you and rammed the needle into your neck, injecting you once again. You were released as the burning took over like it was natural. You could no longer hold back the screams as your body felt it was ripping itself apart. It felt like forever before the familiar darkness finally settled in.</p>
<hr/>
<p>This became the daily routine: You’d wake up after each painful section, ravenously shovel your food down and chug your water, go through the tortuous beatings, fight tooth and nail to avoid the syringe until you were finally forced still enough, then you’d be overwhelmed by the burning of your veins and greeted by the darkness of your unconsciousness. You couldn’t keep track of time, you had no idea how long you’d been there. Your broken left arm was completely healed a while ago though, you had done your own sort of physical therapy to ensure it’s strength even if it didn’t heal quite right. The cut above your left eye became a menacing scar, and many other scars developed on your back. You were in near constant pain and discomfort, yet you never showed any it until it was ripped from your lungs after each injection. Otherwise you were silent, offering sarcastic remarks about performance issues every now and then. Tony would of been proud.</p>
<p>You were sitting after one of those many beatings, surprised the doctor hadn’t come like had become the routine. You took the time to catalog all of your new bruises, they had backed off of using the whip as much so they hadn’t used it today. You figured it was because you had pretty much lost feeling in it, they could see you weren’t struggling as much to stay silent. The lack of feeling should have terrified you, but it brought you a sick sense of relief instead. You just wished they didn’t resort to senseless beating, at least the whip was centered to one point. Now everywhere hurt and it was impossible to lay comfortably. </p>
<p>You were startled when you looked up and suddenly saw the doctor and Nasir standing there, surprised you hadn’t heard them come in. You studied them. Nasir was holding what looked to be a bottle of some sort of liquor and the doctor has this look of exuberant glee on his face. The look sent a chill down your spine, you didn’t want to know where this visit was leading. They entered the cell and approached you, Nasir held the bottle out to you and ordered simply “Drink. It will help”</p>
<p>You took the bottle from his hand and sniffed it, you scrunched your nose. Definitely alcoholic. He smirked at your reaction and urged you to drink it with a hand motion. You were suspicious, but you also desperately wanted a way to ease your suffering. You knew getting drunk would ease that pain for at least a little while. You threw caution to the wind, tipped the bottle back, and chugged it. It burned your raw throat on the way down, but settled with a pleasant warmth in your stomach. You had forgotten what it felt like to be warm in this cell. They watched you like wolves hunting prey, obviously waiting for something. You just didn’t know what. </p>
<p>A few seconds later you felt a tingling start to develop in your limbs, and you slowly lost all feeling and control of your body. You slumped to the ground completely limp and terrified. The doctor looked positively gleeful at your suffering, while Nasir looked intrigued. He addressed the doctor with almost child-like awe. “Fascinating. It will cause temporary paralysis every time without fail?”</p>
<p>“Yes. When I tested how alcohol affected the formula I saw how it basically froze everything. The effect lasted for several hours, so it will likely last almost as long on the subject. I don’t know what causes the alcohol to act as a temporary paralyzing and numbing agent, but I feel this discovery will be useful for future sessions. We will no longer have to hold her down if you force her to drink any alcohol beforehand.” The doctor rambled as he poked and prodded you.</p>
<p>“Very good. You may begin the injection now.” Nasir turns and exits the cell, leaving you alone with the doctor. </p>
<p>He pulled out a syringe and as he steadied his hand to inject you spoke “The alcohol may help with the pain as well. It wasn’t my intention, I only wanted to be able to do this easier but you take what you can get. I will miss your screams.” He plunged the needle in roughly, but you couldn’t even feel it. </p>
<p>The burning spread throughout your body agonizingly slow, the pain not any less than usual. Screams were forced from your lungs yet again, the alcohol having no effect on it at all. The doctor looked like a kid in a candy shop “Haha! Yes! That is perfect! No struggle and I still get screams!” </p>
<p>The only difference the alcohol seemed to have was the lack of unconsciousness, you no longer felt the darkness creeping in. You were forced to suffer through the pain until it faded, listening to the doctor’s joyous laughter the entire time. You felt like you were going mad by the time it was over, leaving you a panting sweaty mess. You were dreading this new routine.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ace's new routine is great... right? Anyone jealous? No? Me neither. </p>
<p>Questions, comments, criticisms, etc. are more than welcome!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A picture is worth a thousand words, but a memory is priceless.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>1 month after the attack…</i></p>
<p>
Tony stared at Ace’s designated space in his workshop, he has left it untouched. Her tools were still sprawled across the tabletop as she had left them. She usually cleaned them up before she left but she had been in a hurry that godforsaken day. He grips the screwdriver in his hand as he remembers that last hug, the one he wished never ended. He’s pulled from his thoughts as DUM-E lets out a few sad beeps as he turns to her work space as well. Tony sighs as he stands “Yeah, I miss her too buddy”
</p>
<p>
It’s been a month with no sight of Ace, not even a whisper in the wind. Tony’s life has felt so quiet without her around. She almost always filled his basement with laughter or the sounds of her tinkering away on something. It was ironic how the generally kind, quiet, and shy girl filled his life with so much noise. He missed her terribly. He knows Rhodey has been searching as hard and as much as possible; he hasn’t even considered coming home yet. Tony heads to his monitors to check if there had been any hits on Ace. He sighs frustratedly and hangs his head when he sees no change. He looks back over to her work space.
</p>
<p>
Tony walks to her table to study the various knick-knacks on it. He lets a small huff of laughter out when he spies the ridiculous abstract paperweight he gifted her as a joke. The hideous thing is a twisted lump of metal that didn’t resemble any one shape, he’s surprised she kept it. He feels a small smile grow on his face at the memory of her initial reaction.
</p>
<p>

<i>Ace startles as a box lands harshly on her desk. She looks up to see Tony standing there with a smug expression on his face. He doesn’t say anything, just gestures to the box dramatically like a child. She raises an eyebrow and studies the beautifully presented box; It has shiny white paper with swirls creating a delicate design, the look is tied together by sparkly gold ribbons wrapped around the box. She takes her time looking at it, not moving to unwrap it yet. Tony sighs impatiently and hits her with a playfully annoyed look “Are you gonna open it or what?”</i>
</p>
<p>
 <i>“Why are you giving me a gift at work?” she says while staring him down suspiciously.</i>
</p>
<p>
<i>“Why not?” He shrugs nonchalantly. </i></p>
<p>
<i>“Because” She draws the word out “I’m trying to focus. Why couldn’t this wait until later?”</i>
</p>
<p>
<i>“Just open it!” He snaps with a grin that takes the harshness out of his words. He’s barely able to keep the laughter in as she slowly unwraps the present and looks inside. She looks back up at him with an eyebrow raised and amusement dancing in her eyes.</i></p>
<p>
<i>“What the heck is this?” She asks as she lifts it out to study it closer. He bursts out laughing at the look on her face once it’s completely revealed. She joins in on his contagious laughter “Seriously, what is this thing?”</i>
</p>
<p>
<i>“It’s a paperweight!” He states like it’s obvious with a completely serious face. He’s barely able to hold the look in place for more than a second before he bursts into laughter again.</i>
</p>
<p>
<i>“It’s the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen!” She exclaims through the endless laughter.</i>
</p>
<p>
 <i>“You don’t need to thank me.” He says with a big grin. “Now get back to work.” He struts out of her office with the sound of her laughter in his wake. </i>
</p>
<p>
Tony comes out of his memory smiling, he loves the sound of her laughter. It never fails to put a smile on his own face.  His gaze roams the space once more, eyes falling on a picture frame. His smile fades as he takes it in. It’s a picture of the two of them, many years ago at her first public appearance as head of the Medical Division of Stark Industries. Her arms are around his waist while his are around her shoulders, both of them mid laugh.  Her nose was scrunched adorably and her eyes shut tight, him looking very similar. She had been beyond nervous that night, so he had made it his goal to loosen her up and break her free from her shell. He picks up the picture and rubs his thumb over her face. He feels tears come to his eyes as he sets the picture back in its place. He closes his eyes and takes a long shuddering breath to rein in his emotions. 
</p>
<p>
 “Sir” Tony’s eyes pop open as JARVIS’ voice rings throughout the space. “You may want to see this.” He turns to his monitors as JARVIS pulls up what looks to be a news segment and raises the volume. Ace’s name is the first thing he hears as he zeroes in on the reporter.</p>
<p>
“-the Head of the Medical Division at Stark Industries has been confirmed as missing after much speculation on her whereabouts. Many believed that the famed inventor had been involved in an accident of some kind concerning her research and that she has been recovering in private. However, former CEO and current second-in-command of Stark Industries, Obadiah Stane, released a press statement earlier this afternoon stating that she was involved in an attack on her caravan, during a business trip to Afghanistan last month, that resulted in her capture. Mr. Stane confirms that a search and rescue effort is being made. He was also adamant that no other information is available for the public at this time. Her known good friend, Colonel James Rhodes, is believed to be heading the search and rescue efforts. Stark Industries’ stocks have taken a noticeable hit as the news spread like wildfire. Many are now wondering who will replace Miss-"</p>
<p>
“Mute.” Tony muttered the command heatedly. The more he listened the more he felt rage build up beneath his skin. He had told Obi not to mention anything to the press just yet. He didn’t want to deal with the swarms of questions he was sure he’d be getting while he was still trying to come to terms with what happened himself. He didn’t even want to think about replacing her, now that’s all he’s gonna hear until she’s found. “JARVIS, call Obi. Put it on speaker.”
</p>
<p>
He picked up after a few rings <i>“Tony, my boy! To what do I owe the pleasure?”</i></p>
<p>
“You know exactly why I’m calling, Obi. I told you not to say anything to the press yet!” Tony seethed, his voice was slightly raised involuntarily. He heard a deep sigh come through the other end before Obi began calmly.
</p>
<p>
<i>“The stockholders have a right to know, Tony. She played a big role in the company. Not only was she the Head of the Medical Division, but she helped you quite a bit in weapons development. Her absence is gonna affect a lot of functions within the company. Including your personal efficiency. Releasing the statement was the best option for the company.” </i></p>
<p>
Tony pinched his nose irritatedly “I know that! But she is my friend first, the company comes second! Everyone is already acting like she’s dead! The release hasn’t been out for more than a few hours and people are already wanting to write her return off! They’re already scrambling to know who will replace her for god’s sake!.” </p>
<p>
<i>“I’m sorry Tony, I really am. But I have the company’s best interests at heart, you know that. I know you two were close, but that doesn’t mean the company can just be ignored.”</i> He paused for a second and sighed again <i>“Look, I gotta go Tony. I have a meeting to attend. Come back to work soon, you can’t leave Pepper to do everything.” </i></p>
<p>
Tony didn’t get a chance to respond before Obi hung up. He slumped down into a chair, head in his hands. Everyone was acting like she’s dead. Like she doesn’t have a chance of returning. He knew Ace wasn’t dead though. She’ll be found soon… right? Right.</p><hr/>
<p>
<i>4 months later...</i>
</p>
<p>
Tony was engrossed in the shell of a missile when an alarm rang throughout his workshop cutting off his loud music. He will never admit that it made him jump… or that it made him solder the wire in the wrong place. He sighed in frustration then addressed his AI “What gives with the alarm, J?”</p>
<p>
"That is the yearly midnight reminder for Ma’am’s birthday, Sir.” His words froze Tony in place. He double checked the date on his phone, and sure enough it was October 17th. He’d been cooped up in his lab and hadn’t realized it was approaching. He swallowed the suddenly large lump in his throat and blinked back his tears. He’d told himself that he was done crying, it solved nothing. His burning eyes soon found the picture frame he now kept on his desk. It was of the two of them, they had fallen asleep curled on his couch together after watching movies and Pepper took the picture when she arrived for work the next morning. He originally hated the picture since it clearly showed the drool on the side of his mouth, but now he loved it because of the look of absolute peace on her face. He imagined that wherever she was right now she was not peaceful, so he held onto a tiny piece of it as much as he could. </p>
<p>
The search and rescue efforts had been abandoned a couple months ago, much to his dismay. He wanted the military to keep searching until all of their resources ran dry. He tried to argue saying that her medical advancements were necessary for the troops, stating her importance called for more efforts to be spent. He regretfully lost the argument, they said she was most likely dead since there was nothing that indicated otherwise. Therefore, the searches were stopped and Rhodey was sent home against his will. 
</p>
<p>
He and Rhodey had planned to spend today celebrating her birthday, even if she wasn’t here to do so herself. Now that it was actually here however, Tony just wanted to get blackout drunk to ease the growing pain in his chest. He couldn’t believe she’s been gone for over 5 months, sometimes he expects her to just walk down the stairs and hug him before getting to work. He missed her hugs, they always managed to comfort him. He could use some of that right now. Tony slowly trudged off to bed, his dreams filled with nothing but her.</p>
<p>
He didn’t wake until hours later to Rhodey bursting into his room announcing loudly “Wake up! Come on man, we’re going out. Get ready.” He then left Tony to his own devices. He slowly got up and got ready for the day, checking the time to see it was already well into the morning. When he finished he met Rhodey in his living room then headed down to his basement to pick a car. He instantly settled on the silver Audi R8, it’s Ace’s favorite. She loved the way the silver gleamed in the sunlight. They headed off in silence, both stuck in their thoughts about whose birthday they were celebrating.</p>
<p>
Tony pulled to a stop in front of Ace’s favorite restaurant, a simple place with the juiciest burgers. They spent most of their day there, recalling stories about their missing best friend while enjoying her favorite food. They continued their trip down memory lane in a nearby bar, where they spent the night laughing away. Despite the smiles on their faces, they both wished she was there to share in it. They ended the day with a toast in honor of their missing third musketeer.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I thought a break from torture would be nice. Tony needed a check in anyways. To clarify the timeline a bit in case anyone is confused, both Ace and Tony are at the same point in time. Their experiences are parallel with the time jumps. While Ace's chapters won't state the actual amount of time it's been (since she doesn't exactly know), I'm using Tony's chapters to give a sense of the timeline. The chapters will probably bounce back and forth between the two like this for a while. There are gonna be some pretty big time jumps! </p>
<p>As always: Questions, comments, criticisms, etc. are more than welcome! Thank you for all the nice comments so far, it's heartwarming to see others enjoying my story ^.^</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ace learns the consequences of giving up.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As time passed by slowly, you grew physically stronger. Despite the lack of proper nutrition and horrid living conditions. You were able to watch and feel the changes in your own body as you logically grew skinnier and skinnier from the lack of actual food, but your muscles confusedly grew stronger and stronger. They looked almost comical on your sickenly boney frame. You could only assume it’s what they injected into you daily that caused the abnormal growth. Each day you felt yourself growing weaker and stronger simultaneously, it was a disorienting feeling. As your energy and willpower dropped, your muscles strengthened vastly. </p>
<p>You continued to struggle in vain against the growing mass of men holding you down when they force-fed you alcohol before each injection.  As you grew stronger, more men would be there to hold you down. It’s gotten to the point that they came armed with heavy assault rifles. You learned that they were afraid about what you could do if they let their guard down. The fear and wariness was always present in their eyes. </p>
<p>You kept up the mask of defiance on your face even as you felt everything inside of you crumbling more each second you were stuck in this cell. You never uttered a sound of pain until the injection forced it out of you. The mask is what kept them on their toes, they thought you’d break free any second. They thought you had the strength and willpower to back up that defiance. Physically, you might have on a good day. Mentally however, you were on the verge of giving up. You knew there weren’t any good days ahead. You knew that even if you fought back enough to escape the cell you’d never have the energy to truly escape their grasp. You lacked the substance your body needed to make that kind of effort. You wouldn’t make it more than a few feet into the hallway before you collapsed. It was that knowledge that eventually made you give up.</p>
<p>You accepted your fate.</p>
<p>You stopped struggling when it was time to drink whatever bottle of alcohol they gave you. You drank it with no complaints. You let the injection run its burning course through your veins while your screams of pain echoed throughout your cage. When the pain faded you were stuck with nothing but your thoughts as you slowly gained control back in your limp limbs, as the alcohol slowly made its way from your system. You’d sit for hours upon hours staring at the blank rock walls that surrounded you. You sank into a deep sense of determination and resignation, it ate at you until you succumbed to it’s call. You weren’t gonna let these bastards win, there was only one way they’d lose. You stopped eating. You stopped drinking. You accepted the beatings that they gave you as a result. You accepted them with a knowing smile.</p>
<p>You accepted your inevitable death.</p>
<hr/>
<p>You were slumped against an unforgivingly cold wall when that familiar metal clang bounced through the room. It was closely followed by the sounds of yelling and struggling, as well as what sounded like things being dragged along forcefully. You weakly sat up intrigued and confused as the sounds neared your cell. This was way different than the normal proceedings you’d grown used to. </p>
<p>Nasir was the first one to reach your cell. He looked at you with a face that held nothing but evil intent before he spoke coldly “Throw them in with her.” A group shuffled up beside him, it was the source of the yelling. You studied them curiously and felt your heart drop when you saw three people being restrained and forced into your cell. Your heart dropped even further when you saw a child among the three. All three were tossed into the cell before Nasir addressed you directly “Since you are so intent on killing yourself, we needed replacements. Their suffering is on your hands, fool.” He then turned and left with the other men.</p>
<p>Your focus was dragged over to the three newcomers, they sat huddled together on the opposite side of your cell. The man was holding the woman and child protectively while they cried against him. Your heart broke as you took them in, guilt settled heavily into your entire being. You were the reason they were here, if you hadn’t given up they wouldn’t have been dragged from their home. You knew in that moment that you couldn’t let anything happen to them. You’d protect them with your life, no matter how much pain it brought onto you. </p>
<p>The man eventually looked up and startled when he saw you sitting there. He hesitantly asked you something, but it was in Arabic and you couldn’t understand him. You cleared your throat and spoke for the first time in a long time. Your voice came out hoarse, broken, and quiet “I’m sorry, I don’t speak Arabic. Do you speak English?”</p>
<p>The man nodded and repeated his question, this time in English “Where are we?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know.” You looked away as you spoke, unable to hold the man’s gaze as it bore into you. He seemed hesitant before he asked another question.</p>
<p>“You are prisoner here, yes?” You nodded your head solemnly. “How long?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know for sure, but I’ve been stuck here for a long time.” You paused before you looked back to him. “I’m sorry, you got dragged here because of me. If I had been stronger you wouldn’t be here.”</p>
<p>He looked shocked before his face softened “We are here because of evil men. You are not to blame. You are stronger than you think.”</p>
<p>You shook your head in denial before looking away again. The child turned in his arms to look at you. He stared at you for a moment before asking quietly “Are you okay, miss?”</p>
<p>You gave a small smile. This boy couldn’t have been older than 10 or 11, yet he was asking if you were okay when he was just thrown into a cell with what you assumed were his parents. It further solidified your desire to protect these kind people, they didn’t deserve to be here. “I’m okay, and you will be too. I won’t let anything happen to you or your parents.”</p>
<p>He gave a small smile in return and nodded. He continued to study you for a minute, brows furrowing in concentration. You felt a little exposed as his eyes bored into your face. Suddenly his face lit up in recognition, and he exclaimed in sudden awe “You’re the woman who went missing from Stark Industries, right?!” You nodded and watched his eyes brighten a bit “Wow! Everyone thinks you’re dead, you’ve been missing for so long!”</p>
<p>You nodded again sadly as you took that little snippet of information in. You hesitated before asking something you dreaded to know the answer to “Do you know what day it is?”</p>
<p>He nodded excitedly “July 27th!” This confused you, there was no way you had only been here for a little over two months. You felt a knot form in your stomach as you came to a heart-wrenching realization. You swallowed past a painful lump before asking your next question.</p>
<p>“What year?”</p>
<p>“2004!” You closed your eyes and leaned your head back against the wall, letting this sink in. The knot in your stomach grew.</p>
<p>A year and two months. </p>
<p>You’d been stuck in this hell hole for over a year. You’d been tortured and experimented on for over a year. You’d been away from your home for over a year. You’d been alone for over a year.</p>
<p>The kid started rambling different questions a mile a minute, but you couldn’t concentrate on him at all. His rambling was ceased by a sharp reprimand from his mother “Malik! Leave the poor woman be. She needs rest.” You opened your eyes and met hers, you gave her a sad nod of appreciation which she returned before hugging Malik close to her. You leaned your head against the wall and got sucked away by your frantic thoughts, unintentionally drifting to sleep.</p>
<hr/>
<p>You jerked awake at the sound of that putrid metal clang. Your eyes immediately fell on the family huddled together across from you. They stared back at you with uncertainty as footsteps drew nearer to your now shared cell. Nasir was once again standing there with men lined behind him. You met his gaze as he smirked at you then barked out an order. You didn’t know what he said, but quickly put it together as men advanced and the mother screamed and held Malik tighter while he looked terrified. The father stood up, prepared to fight for his family.</p>
<p>The men approached him menacingly and a struggle broke out. You managed to painfully stand as he was subdued by two of the men and stood like a firm wall between Malik and the rest of the men. They approached, ready to simply toss your frail frame aside. You had other ideas. You gathered all the energy you had left and allowed the fierce determination and desire to protect this little family fuel your every move. </p>
<p>As a man reached you, you grabbed him by his head and slammed it against the wall. He slumped to the ground unmoving. The room froze as every single person stopped to stare at you in shock, it was as if you were another person standing there. Despite your sickly appearance, you looked strong and sturdy. You were ready for a fight, and you were gonna make it a hell of a good one. The brief pause ended as all of the men rushed you, including the two that had once held Malik’s father. Four bodies flew at you. You grabbed one by the neck and flipped him up and over you, slamming him harshly into the ground. Another wrapped his arms around your skinny waist and you kicked off the ground with all the force you could muster, slamming him against the wall behind you. You turned and punched him in the face with all the might you could muster. He quickly joined his comrades on the ground unconscious. The third man grabbed your wrist and yanked you away from Malik and his mother. You managed to twist in his grasp and grab his own arm, flipping him over your shoulder. You went to straighten back up when the click of a gun sounded by your ear, followed by the press of the cold barrel against your temple. </p>
<p>You turned to see Nasir looking at you with a sick smile, as if you hadn’t just taken down four men. You stared into his eyes as you felt the burst of energy dwindling quickly, but didn’t dare to show that to him. You feigned strength and confidence as you spoke through your panting breaths “I will do whatever you ask of me with no issues. I will eat and drink whatever you give me. All I ask is you leave them alone, and do whatever you want to me out of sight from them. The child doesn’t need to see that.” It was borderline a plea, barely disguised as a demand.</p>
<p>His smile never faded as he replied. “Good. Come with me. You try anything and I will have the child executed.” He quickly turned and walked away, gesturing for you to follow. You knew you played into his plan, but didn’t care as long as they were safe. You refused to meet the father’s eyes as you passed him, knowing all you would see was a plea to keep fighting in them and a question you didn’t know the answer to. You stayed silent as you followed Nasir out of the cell.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This chapter was a bit harder for me to write and make flow good. I hope you all enjoy it!</p>
<p>As always; Questions, comments, criticisms, etc. are more than welcome!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ace gains some hope back.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You followed Nasir through winding hallways while passing by many men who stared after you. You didn’t know if they stared at you because you were a woman or because of your appearance. It was probably the latter. You’d been in the same clothes since the attack, which you now knew to be 14 months ago. You were sure you were quite the sight- and smell -Skinny but with a disproportionate amount of muscle, clothes ripped to almost shreds, dried blood coating your entire body, a scar you were sure looked menacing over your left eye, and scars all across your back peeking through the various tears. Your heart clenched as you remembered some of the blood on you wasn’t your own. It was from the soldier who had tried to protect you and sadly died in the process. </p>
<p>You were too deep in your thoughts to realize Nasir had stopped- you bumped into him. He spun around with a look of pure disgust on his face before he raised his hand and slapped you with an exclamation of “Watch where you are going!” Your head whipped to the side from the force of the hit. You slowly leveled your gaze back on him, eyes full of pure hatred. He looked taken aback for a second before he regained his composure and stepped through a doorway signaling for you to follow silently. </p>
<p>You stepped through after him and immediately spotted the doctor that always injected you in the room. You glowered at him as Nasir pointed you to a table and you laid obediently. You already knew you were here for the injection. Nasir nodded to the doctor and left. The doctor surprised you when he spoke, “Up. We have something to do first.” You sat up and waited for further instruction. “Take your shirt off, I am going to take blood.”</p>
<p>You peeled your shirt off of you, one long sleeve at a time. Once your shirt was off he found a suitable vein in your arm and drew about a pint of blood. When he finished he told you to put your shirt on and lay back down. You did so as you watched him prepare the needle with the formula you’d been receiving. You stared him down as he approached and stuck the needle into your neck, pumping the formula into your veins once again. You braced yourself for the inevitable unbearable pain. Yet as the burning spread across your body, it stayed at a constant level instead of growing exponentially.</p>
<p>Screams weren’t ripped from your throat like every other time. It was still extremely painful, but you were able to grit your teeth and ride it through. When the pain faded you were more drained than normal, your eyes immediately drooped without your permission and you were covered in sweat. You barely registered the doctor excitedly writing something in his notes. He eventually got up and left the room. Two men came in shortly after his departure and roughly dragged you back to your cell.</p>
<hr/>
<p>You were tossed onto the ground in your cell. As the men left you looked up and studied the family you had left there earlier, you let out a breath of relief when you saw them untouched. The father immediately moved to help you settle into a spot against the wall next to him rather than across the room like you were before. You thanked him and relaxed against the wall, ignoring his questioning gaze for now. </p>
<p>He settled himself next to you and quietly spoke, “Thank you for saving my son.” His gaze turned to the sleeping child curled against his mother.</p>
<p>“I just did what was right”, You said just as quietly.</p>
<p>He shook his head, “You did more than that.” He then glanced to you, “I can’t imagine what you have been through. Yet you still fought for someone else. You gave us hope.” </p>
<p>You were silent for a while before, “I lost hope a long time ago”</p>
<p>“Are you sure?”</p>
<p>“Yes.”, You spoke resolutely, “But don’t you lose hope. I’ll get you and your family out of here. All of you.”</p>
<p>“After what I saw today, I have no doubt of that. However, do not forget to include yourself on that list. We will all leave here together.”, He spoke so surely you had no choice but to believe him. </p>
<p>“What are your names?”, in all of the chaos you had forgotten to ask their names. You knew Malik simply because you overheard his mother call him.</p>
<p>“You may call me Amir. My wife is Fatima. Our son’s name is Malik. What should we call you?”</p>
<p>“My friends call me Ace.” You glanced at him, “I already consider you one. No better way to start a friendship than to sit in a hell hole together. Strong foundation, ya know?”</p>
<p>His chuckle made you smile, “There is no stronger foundation I dare say.” He paused for a second in thought,  “Except saving the life of one’s child. So yes, I say we have a very strong foundation indeed.”</p>
<p>You both lapsed into silence once more. It was silent for a little while before you spoke up again, “Are you familiar with Stark Industries? I know Malik is, since he recognized me.”</p>
<p>He nodded, “Yes. Your disappearance caused quite the commotion. It was the only thing talked about for months until fairly recently.”</p>
<p>“Do you know how Tony’s doing?” You asked this hesitantly. You didn’t know if you really wanted to hear the answer. You hoped he was doing well, but you also knew him better than that. He was probably somehow blaming himself for what happened. </p>
<p>“Tony Stark?” When you nodded in confirmation he continued, “He seems to be well from what I’ve heard. There was a time where he appeared to be struggling with your absence, but he has since returned to his partying ways. There are rumors that Obadiah Stane has been pushing him to replace you in the medical division.”</p>
<p>This both shocked and confused you, “He hasn’t replaced me yet? From what you told me, I’ve been gone for over a year. That’s a long time to go without the Head of the Medical Division.”</p>
<p>“Many believe he is holding onto the hope that you’ll someday return. I’m assuming you are close with him since you are asking?”</p>
<p>“He’s my best friend. We’ve been stuck with each other since we were teenagers. He was 16 and I was 15 when we met at MIT.” Your voice got quieter as you drifted a bit in your remembrance, “I was the nerdy, extremely shy, new genius on the block. He came right up to me with all his swagger and confidence to make conversation. I didn’t talk much, and eventually snuck away to class. He seemed unimpressed and I’m pretty sure he thought I bought my way into school. I don’t think he took me seriously until I corrected something on one of his designs. His reaction was priceless, he stared at me like I was from mars. After that he wouldn’t leave me alone, always sat next to me in any classes we had together. We’ve been glued at the hip since then.”  You realized you rambled and quickly felt embarrassed. You forgot how it felt to talk to someone, you’d been alone for a long time. Amir didn’t seem to mind though- he just sat patiently and listened intently.</p>
<p>He was silent for a few moments, “You must miss him.”</p>
<p>You nodded solemnly, “I do, I miss him so much. He and our other friend Rhodey are all I have.”</p>
<p>Amir seemed to relate as his gaze fell on his family again, “They are all I have too. But now... we have each other as well.”, He turned back to look at you seriously, “You are family now.”</p>
<p>You offered a small smile, “Welcoming a new family member when you’ve barely known them for a day? You, sir, are reckless.”</p>
<p>He let out a laugh at that, “About as reckless as attacking four men when you look like a stick, yeah?”</p>
<p>His retort drew out your own laugh, “Precisely! I’m glad we are at an understanding.”</p>
<p>The laughter soon died away, leaving silence in its wake. Amir went back to gazing at his sleeping wife and child. You could tell that he was desperately tired- but fighting to stay awake. You knew he didn’t want to leave his family unguarded in a place like this. So, you spoke up, “Get some rest. I’ll watch over them.”</p>
<p>He shook his head before responding, “You need it more than I.”</p>
<p>“I’m fine, really. Even if I wanted to I couldn’t.” This was a lie. You could easily fall asleep, but you wanted him to rest after the day he’s had. He’d need it in the future. He turned and studied you for a moment.</p>
<p>“Alright” He sighed, “But if you need to sleep, please wake me. I do not mind.”</p>
<p>You nodded as he got settled in next to his wife, wrapping his arm around her waist and holding her close. You leaned your head against the wall and stared at the ceiling- the breathing from the bodies next to you providing a balm for your soul. You had spent so long alone. To hear something other than silence filled you with a sense of the hope you lost so long ago. </p>
<p>You sat for a long time guarding the family as they slept before you heard shuffling. You looked over to see Malik sitting up rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The confusion grew in his eyes when he looked around, before the obvious remembrance settled in. It killed you a little to see a kid like him going through this. His gaze finally landed on you and he shuffled closer before he spoke, “I’m glad you’re back Miss-”</p>
<p>“Ace. Call me Ace, Malik. No need to be so formal.” You gently interrupted him.</p>
<p>He nodded with a big smile before he continued speaking, “I’m glad you’re back Miss Ace.” You rolled your eyes at the ‘miss’, “I was starting to get worried! You were gone so long.”</p>
<p>“I’m fine. They just needed me for something, nothing to worry about.” You wouldn’t tell him what really happened. You were gonna protect this boy’s innocence as much as you could. Quickly changing the subject, “How old are you Malik?”</p>
<p>“I’m 10! I’ll be 11 in November!” His joy at announcing his age was adorable and brought a small smile to your face, “How old are you Miss Ace?”</p>
<p>“I’m 3-” You stopped abruptly as you remembered how long you’d been here and that you’d missed your birthday. You corrected yourself before he could notice the pause, “-2. I turned 32 back in October.”</p>
<p>“Hey! Our ages count down!” You were confused at first before he elaborated, “3,2,1,0. We’re meant to be together! My mama always says things will line up as a sign you’re on the right path. Clearly we both are meant to be here.”</p>
<p>You laughed hard for a moment before his words really sunk in. You studied him, this smart and kind young boy who got dragged into an awful situation but seemed keen on finding the bright side. Maybe he was right. You were on the verge of death before these people were thrown into your life, well cell. Maybe they were here to give you hope and happiness. You hadn’t smiled and laughed this hard for far too long. You knew in that moment, you would all get out of here alive. Because that’s why they were put here, so you could leave together. You were sure of it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>No big time jumps this chapter ;p Just a continuance of last chapter! We'll be back with Tony for the next one. Is it weird that his side of the story is easier to write than my own character's side??</p>
<p>As always; Questions, comments, criticisms, etc. are more than welcome!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tony is forced to consider replacing Ace.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>8 months after the attack…</i>
</p><p>“Tony, I can’t keep doing practically all of your work!” Pepper was exasperated and at her wits end. She had been going to all of Tony’s meetings, doing all the paperwork she could, planning both his and her schedules, making sure he didn’t die on her, and attempting to placate the board of directors for over eight months now. “I don’t know what I’m doing half the time. I’m not qualified for this!”</p><p>Tony sighed “Pep, you’re more than qualified. You’ve been my assistant for what, a little over 2 years now? You’re just doing a little more than before. It’s not a big deal.” Deep down Tony knew it was a big deal. He had her basically doing his job for him at the moment. He knew she was struggling and clearly out of her comfort zone. He just couldn’t get out of the slump he slipped into when Ace was captured in order to do anything about it. If it wasn’t for Obi picking up his slack, the company would have taken a nosedive.</p><p>“A <i>little</i> more? Tony, you haven’t gone to a single meeting in eight months! I know you’re going through a hard time, but you can’t just let the company fail.”</p><p>“I’m not!” Tony snapped. “I’ve been doing the work of two people. My own and Ace’s. I’m just shucking some less important things off to you. Besides, Obi is taking care of things just fine.”</p><p>“A Board of Directors meeting is less important than going to a party?” Pepper placed her hands on her hips and stared him down. She wasn’t taking his bullshit excuses.  When he didn’t respond she continued a touch gentler. “Tony, they were talking about replacements.”</p><p>“Too bad for them. It’s not happening. My name on the building, my decisions.” He could tell Pepper didn’t like that response, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. It was ultimately his decision. No matter what any of those old coots said. He shrugged as he continued “It’s not like her work isn’t getting done. I’m doing the majority of it and I’ve left some to people beneath her. There’s no need for a replacement.”</p><p>“You may be doing her work just fine, but yours is suffering.” She was treading lighter now, the thought of replacing Ace never failed to rile him up a bit. Pepper understood though. Ace is a sensitive subject for all of them.</p><p>“Nope.” Tony popped the p as he spun around back to his desk. “That’s where you’re wrong. I’m designing something right now in fact. Very interesting concept, using a high frequency sound wave to cause temporary paralysis. Not exactly a weapon, but it could be useful. Maybe I could add a utility knife that pops out...” He faded into thought as he got back to the device in front of him. Truly feeling done with his assistant.</p><p>Pepper watched him for a few moments before she broke the silence “At least start going to your meetings again? It’d give the board less motivation to replace Ms.-”</p><p>“You’re still here?” The look she shot him at the interruption was nothing short of pure annoyance. He sighed heavily. “Fine. Put some on my schedule. Will that be all Ms. Potts?”</p><p>“Yes, that will be all Mr. Stark”</p>
<hr/><p>
  <i>1 year after the attack…</i>
</p><p>A year. It’s been a year since Tony had last seen his best friend. Today was the day everything went to shit. He and Rhodey were planning on spending the day together, but Rhodey got deployed a few weeks ago. The timing of his departure made everything just a little bit harder. It would have been nice to be distracted by one of his best friends, but you can’t get everything you want. Even if he was Tony Stark. </p><p>He decided to spend the day painting his 1932 Flathead Roadster instead of drowning in his despair. Ace had been excited about his restoration on the vehicle, so he would see it through. He sat there debating whether to leave it the glossy black it originally was or change it up a bit. His decision was made for him as his thoughts inevitably drifted towards her.</p><p>
  <i>“You should put flames on that.” Tony looked up when Ace spoke. He had been reshaping a part of the frame from where it had been dented by him as a kid. His father had almost blown a gasket when he found out. He paused and scrutinized her then the car.</i></p><p>
  <i>“That’s incredibly cheesy and loud.” He said this with a hint of disgust in his voice and a contradicting grin that gave away his real thoughts on the matter.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Exactly. Just your style.” She said this with a wink and big grin, already knowing he was gonna add the flames. Cheesy may not have been his style, but loud certainly was. She secretly admired the way Tony wasn’t afraid to put himself out there. He was loud and proud, even if it was a mask to hide the vulnerable man underneath.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“You love it.” He turned away from her as he focused back onto the stubborn dent. He missed the look of adoration on her face as she responded quietly, the sound barely reaching his ears but still made him smile all the same.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“I do.”</i>
</p><p>He set to work priming the car before he painted it with a layer of glossy black. He passed the time waiting for it to dry by sketching the flames on a digital mock-up of the car, already loving the look. By the time JARVIS announced the car should be dry he had the design complete and ready to be applied. He diligently went to work on painting the flames, taking his time to get them just right. He finished a few hours later. He wiped his hands clean of paint and got up to take a look.</p><p>He stepped back as he admired the car. The flames danced across the front, making it look cheesily badass. The white rimmed tires made the flames pop even more, tying the car together along with the red upholstery. He smiled at the cheesy flames. He didn’t regret it one bit. She definitely got one thing right, it was just his style.</p>
<hr/><p>
  <i>3 months later…</i>
</p><p>Tony had kept his word to Pepper and started to attend more meetings. He had just left one and decided to sign some forms in his office before heading home for the day to continue designing a new weapon. He was almost finished when he heard a knock on the door before it was opened. Tony immediately felt wary when Obi stepped in with a professional looking woman following closely behind him.</p><p>“Tony, this is Ms. Price.” Tony stood and buttoned his suit jacket while studying her. She was extremely petite and held an almost smug look on her face. He immediately wasn’t a fan.</p><p>“It’s nice to meet you Mr. Stark.” She didn’t smile as she offered her hand for Tony to shake, which he promptly ignored. </p><p>“Of course it is. I’m me.” He said flippantly before turning his full attention to Obi. “What’s the point of this?”</p><p>“I was hoping Ms. Price will be able to replace-” Obadiah didn’t get to finish his sentence before Tony cut him off.</p><p>“You better not be about to say who I think you are. Because we talked about this.”</p><p>Obadiah sighed and ran his hand down his bearded face. “I’m sorry Ms. Price, will you give Tony and I a moment please?” He walked her back to the door and shut it behind her before turning back to Tony. “I know you don’t want to replace her Tony, but the company is suffering because of your reluctance to-” He held up a hand to stop Tony from interrupting “I know what you’re gonna say. You’ve been doing her work, but that’s not what we need right now. Weapon advancements are what we are known for, not medical advancements. The company needs your full focus to be on weapon development.”</p><p>“This isn’t forever Obi, Ace will be back. I’ll cut back on the medical side and focus more on weapons, but I’m not replacing her.” Tony was trying his hardest to rein his anger in. He hated how much everyone wanted to replace Ace.</p><p>“Tony. You can’t hold onto false hope forever, she is probably never coming back. You need to think about the possibility that she is dead. You need to let the company move on.” Obadiah delivered this with a sense of detached coldness that irked Tony to the bone. </p><p>“I don’t <i>need</i> to do anything. And she’s <i><b>not dead.</b></i>” Tony was firmly angered now, voice raised slightly. </p><p>Obadiah knew he couldn’t get Tony to agree with tough love, so he tried a new angle. He had to get Tony back to focusing on weapons, that was where the money flowed from. “How about we offer it as a temporary position that can be revoked at any point. It will allow you to focus on weapons. Besides, we don’t know the state she would be in if-” He quickly corrected himself at Tony’s sharp look “-when she’s found. She might not want to work right away.” </p><p>That dampened Tony’s ire considerably. He hadn’t thought about that. To be honest, he avoided all thoughts about how she’d be when she got back. He just wanted her to be ok. “Fine. Temporary position, but the job is Ace’s if she wants it.” Tony didn’t like it, but he could see where Obi was coming from. He knew he wasn’t focusing as much as he should be on weapon development. Obi clapped his hand on Tony’s shoulder and gave a slight squeeze.</p><p>“Works for me. I knew you’d see what’s best for the company.”</p><p>“Just find someone other than Ms. Stick up her ass. She makes me want to swallow a bottle of scotch and spit it back on her so it’ll seep through her skin and loosen her up. It’d be a shame to waste my good scotch on that.” He didn’t give Obi a chance to respond as he breezed by him, leaving him standing in his office dumbstruck.  </p><p>He immediately ran into the aforementioned Ms. Stick up her ass. “Ah, Mr. Stark. I take it I have the job?”</p><p>“Yeahhh, no. Why don’t you go check with Hammer Industries? I’m sure they’ll have a position for someone of your intelligence level. You know, on the low end.” Tony didn’t even look back as she started squawking in disagreement. He smirked as the elevator doors closed. A normal day in the office.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I enjoyed writing this chapter. What do you all think of the characterization of all the characters? Do I portray Tony, Pepper, Obadiah, and Rhodey good?</p><p>As always; Questions, comments, criticisms, etc. are more than welcome!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The cellmates grow closer, and something finally pushes Ace into action.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Time passed much quicker now that you had cellmates. You continued to comply with Nasir’s demands... for the most part. There were days you mouthed off more than you should and got a whipping as a result. It was worth it though, you had to make sure they knew you weren’t on their side nor would you ever be. You were only letting them have their way because you had others to protect now. If Fatima, Amir, or Malik were touched in any way there’d be hell to pay. </p>
<p>You had grown close to the charming family of three. Amir never ran out of wise words to offer you when you were particularly down and found ways to distract you from your thoughts. During quiet moments he would teach you Arabic by writing in the dirt and pronouncing each word for you to repeat. You had become pretty fluent in the language thus far, able to understand almost all of what was said around you. Fatima cared for you as she did for Malik, she would always make sure you were ok. She would often set aside portions of her precious water to gently rinse any new wounds you’d come back to the cell with. You tried to tell her off, to get her to save her water for herself. But she always refused, insisting that it was the least she could do for protecting her family. You were the cleanest you’d been in a long time, and damn if it felt nice to feel cared for. </p>
<p>Out of the three, you grew closest to Malik. The 10- probably 11 by now- year old boy never failed to put a smile on your face. He was the first to rush to you when you returned each day, asking a million questions about what happened and how you were. You always told him <i>“I’m fine, they just wanted my help for something again. Nothing to worry about.”</i> You knew he didn’t believe you but you didn’t dare tell him about the painful injections. Malik would grow bored easily each day. You didn’t blame him, you were bored as hell too. So, you took to teaching him to distract both him. He was fascinated about the things you taught him and loved doing math the most. You could spend hours teaching the intrigued boy about anything to do with math. He wasn’t a genius, but he was pretty damn close. </p>
<p>But, like you, there were days where the darker thoughts weighed on him. Things a little boy should never have to worry about. He would wake you in the middle of the night to ask things such as <i>“Why can’t we go home? I <b>really</b> miss the sun.”</i> and  <i>“Why do you come back bleeding so much? I <b>hate</b> seeing you hurt.”</i>  but the worst would be when he asked <i>“Are we gonna <b>die</b>, Miss Ace?”</i> Tonight was one of those nights it seemed. </p>
<p>You were woken up by a small hand gently tapping your shoulder with the lightest of touches. You had become an insanely light sleeper since you were captured, the barest of noises or briefest of touches would wake you. You knew it would be Malik before you even opened your eyes. He was the only one of the family who freely touched you, Fatima and Amir could tell you were wary of being touched after everything you’d gone through so they avoided it as much as possible. You turned to look at him.</p>
<p>He was kneeling next to you sitting back on his feet, his dirty hair sticking up every which way. You focused on his face and could barely make out the tears sitting in his eyes waiting to fall. You sat up and held your arms out in an invitation that he quickly accepted. He climbed into your frail lap, despite being almost too big to hold, and wrapped his arms around you. He buried his face into your neck as your arms came around him in a tight hug. You sat quietly for a few minutes before he spoke in a watery voice  “I wanna go home.”</p>
<p>“I know you do. You’ll go home one day, I promise. We won’t be stuck here forever.” You hugged him a little tighter. You wanted to go home too, but your main focus was getting Malik and his parents home. You were slowly preparing yourself to escape, eating your food and gathering your strength. You didn’t know how strong you truly were yet because of that stupid formula, but you could tell that if you bided your time you’d be able to escape soon. You could feel the strength flowing through your veins, your body just needed to be physically able to hold up to that strength when the time came. You wouldn’t be able to leave here without one hell of a fight, one you were prepared to go down in if it meant that Malik’s family would be free.</p>
<p>“How do you know that?” He sniffled.</p>
<p>“Because I’ll get us out.” You glance to where his parents are sleeping “<b>All</b> of us.”</p><hr/>
<p>Over time your body slowly healed and regained strength. You were still severely malnourished and sporting fresh slices on your back courtesy of your latest whipping, but you were no longer at death’s door as you had once been. </p>
<p>“Ace, dear” Fatima called to you gently. You looked up at her kind face, rounded with big beautiful blue eyes looking stark against her dark complexion. She gave Malik those same striking eyes, as opposed to Amir's dark calming brown ones. When she saw she had your attention she continued “Take your shirt off, I’ll rinse your wounds again.”</p>
<p>You sat forward and peeled your shirt off. It was so caked with blood, dirt, and sweat that it was crunchy and stiff. You haven't gotten a fresh set of clothes since you’ve been here. Places that shouldn’t have been were itchy beyond relief. You tried to avoid scratching yourself but it would become unbearable if you didn’t. Fatima, Amir, and Malik were in a similar state. Although they weren’t nearly as bad, blood free and it was always too cold to work up a sweat in the cell. “You know you don’t have to do this Fatima, I’m ok with the blood.”</p>
<p>“How many times have we had this argument?” Too many to count at this point. “You are protecting my family. In return, I will address your wounds.” She gently flicked your cheek when you went to argue back “If you say that I need the water more than you, I will use the entirety of it on you rather than drink what’s left. Be glad I don’t already.”</p>
<p>You offered her a small smile “Thank you. I just worry you don’t save enough for yourself.”</p>
<p>“I know you do, dear. But I assure you that I have more than enough. I’m not letting myself die of dehydration. This cave is so cold I don’t even sweat it out. It just sits in me until it goes in that wretched toilet.” The evil eye she sends said toilet pulls a laugh out of you. It truly is awful. </p>
<p>She begins to pour the water down your back while carefully rubbing the skin around any open cuts not wanting to aggravate them. The feeling of her fingers on the sensitive scar tissue sprawled across your back makes you shiver involuntarily. You hated anyone seeing the scars, and you especially hated anyone touching them. But she says they are a sign of strength and resilience. You knew your back looked as though you had been mauled by a bear, the whip made them appear as if each were the swipe of a claw. The scars crossed over each other every which way with new ones still being added occasionally. There was hardly any normal skin to be seen. </p>
<p>“Alright Fatima, that’s enough.” You always stopped her once the water went from a dark red to a lighter pink, knowing that she would let it go until it was clear if you’d let her. The flow of water stopped before she stepped away to join her family once again. You sat there hunched forward to let your back air dry before you pulled your shirt back on. You held the shirt against your stomach to keep it warm as you waited, it was always nice to put a warmish shirt on after the freezing water.</p>
<p>The metal clang that signaled Nasir’s arrival rang throughout the quiet space. You pulled your shirt on and stood waiting for him. Once he arrived in front of your cell he opened the door and signaled you out without a word. You complied and stood back as you watched him lock the door back. He studied the three left inside for a moment before he turned to leave with you quickly following behind. </p>
<p>Once you had left what you deemed the ‘Cell Room’ a guard came to join Nasir for your trek through the winding hallways to the lab. Nasir began speaking quietly to the guard as you walked along. “لقد كانت الموضوع الناجح. أعتقد أن الوقت قد حان للتوسع.” <i>(“She has been quite the successful subject. I think it is time we expand.”)</i></p>
<p>“نعم سيدي يمكننا الحصول على موضوع اختبار آخر من القرية المجاورة. قد يكون هناك رجال على استعداد للتطوع.” <i>(“Yes sir, we can get another test subject from the village nearby. There may be men willing to volunteer.”)</i> The guard replied instantly. They didn’t know that Amir had been teaching you Arabic, so you understood every word.</p>
<p>“لماذا تهتم عندما يكون لدينا ثلاثة هنا بالفعل؟” <i>(“Why bother when we have three here already?”)</i> His words nearly made you falter in your steps. Barely catching yourself in time, you listened intently to what they were saying. You wanted to know how much time you had before Nasir enacted his plan to ‘expand’. You knew who he was talking about and you were going to get them out before that happened.</p>
<p>“ماذا عن صفقتك؟ ألا تنتقم؟” <i>(“What about your deal? Won't she retaliate?”)</i> The guard seemed very uneasy at the idea of you retaliating. It amused you a little to know you had that kind of effect on him.</p>
<p>“سيحرص عمر على ألا يكون ذلك ممكنًا.” <i>(“Omar will be making sure that won't be possible.”)</i> Nasir said coolly before stopping to face the guard at the door to the lab. You could only assume Omar was the name of the doctor, it felt wonderful to finally have a name for the bastard. You didn’t have time to celebrate the newfound information as you took his next words in. “عندما نتركها ، عليك أن تمسك الصبي بأول حقنة." <i>(“When we leave her you are to grab the boy for his first injection.”)</i> </p>
<p>You didn’t wait to hear the guard’s reply. It was now or never. You felt a surge of adrenaline travel through your veins closely followed by a swell of unbelievable strength as you swung the first punch towards freedom.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Stuff is going downnn. I can't wait until Tony and Ace are reunited, it's gonna happen soon ^.^</p>
<p>As always; Questions, comments, criticisms, etc. are more than welcome!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Things start to line up.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>2 years after the attack…</i>
</p>
<p>“<i><b>What?!</b></i>” Tony was livid. He had never felt the level of rage he felt now. He gripped the phone in his hand until his knuckles turned white, resisting the urge to chuck it across the room. “They can’t just <i>do</i> that! It’s way too soon!” He struggled to keep his voice from rising, he was currently in his office at Stark Industries and didn’t need any prying ears listening in. Who knows what kind of rumors would start flying around. </p>
<p><i>“I know how you feel, Tony. I’m not a fan of the idea either. But due to the circumstances behind her disappearance, they’re appealing to the courts for a declaration of death.”</i> Rhodey paused over the line of the phone before he continued. <i>“She was captured by <b>terrorists</b>-”</i> He emphasized the word to make the point come across more. <i>“-Tony, the likelihood that she’s alive…”</i> He faded off, not able to finish what he was insinuating.</p>
<p>“Don’t. Just <b>don’t.</b>” Tony sounded so broken. His voice was quiet and cracking towards the end. All of his rage had quickly faded into heart-wrenching despair. He cleared his throat and pulled himself together before speaking again. “I can’t let that happen, Rhodey. In her will it states I have Power of Attorney in case she was ever incapacitated. I’d say missing counts as incapacitated. Don’t I have a say in this?”</p>
<p><i>“Maybe. But Tony… it might be time to consider that she may not be coming back.”</i> Rhodey spoke gently while hiding his own emotion from his voice. <i>“It’s been two years with no sighting of her. We know she was injured when she was taken, there was too much blood trailing from the humvee for her not to have been. Without proper treatment she may not have survived. We don’t know how badly she was injured.”</i></p>
<p>“Then where is her body? If she-” Tony swallowed down the lump in his throat. “-is dead then why hasn’t her body shown up? Someone would have come across it by now. I <i>know</i> she’s alive.” He spoke so surely and with such confidence that Rhodey could practically feel it leaking through the phone. “I’m gonna get my lawyers all over this. She’s not gonna be declared dead until there is a body. Or ever if I have any say in it.”</p>
<p><i>“Alright Tones, do whatever you feel is right. I’ll do what I can from here. I might have some contacts higher up in the ranks that can lean their weight a little towards us. Let’s fight for our girl.”</i> Tony’s confidence had infected Rhodey. For a while now he had given up hope of finding Ace alive, but that hope was renewed by his best friend’s unwavering faith that she was alive.</p>
<p>Tony’s eyes fell on the picture he kept on his desk. He took her face in and made a silent promise that he’d always fight for her, especially when she wasn’t here to fight for herself. His voice was faraway but displayed nothing but pure determination as he spoke.</p>
<p>“<b>Fight we shall.</b>”</p><hr/>
<p>It had been a few long months since that initial conversation. Tony and Rhodey had indeed fought, and won. Ace wasn’t declared dead. It had been hard to win against the force of the military, but with the combined forces of Tony’s lawyers and Rhodey’s contacts they were able to do it. Ultimately it came down to the Judge agreeing with Tony and Rhodey that it was still too soon to declare her dead without a body, despite the circumstances behind everything. </p>
<p>Rhodey had requested a few days of leave to celebrate the small victory concerning their friend. He and Tony were currently at a bar drinking expensive scotch and whiskey when their attention was snagged by the sound of Ace’s name coming from the TV displaying the news. </p>
<p>“-has been missing for over two years now. How has her disappearance affected Stark Industries, or more specifically, Tony Stark himself? We’ll find out when we return from the break.” </p>
<p>“They’ll talk about everything but the woman herself.” Rhodey said with a sigh of disappointment. No news station had talked about who Ace was as a person: the sweet, shy, smart, nervous girl she attempted to hide beneath her professional persona. All they cared about was her connection to Stark Industries and Tony. “They must be really running out of content in order to be bringing her back up.” Trying to make fun of the situation a bit. </p>
<p>“Yeah, well maybe they’ll speculate that we were secret lovers this time. <i>Or</i> that we were in an open relationship. <i>Or</i> better yet, about how she’s my long lost sister from an affair my father had with someone.” Tony took his olive branch and ran with it. Spitting out jokes about an otherwise depressing situation. If he didn’t they both might sink into a silent despair.</p>
<p>“The best I’ve heard so far is that she is your secret <i>daughter.</i>” Rhodey barely got this out through his laughter. He hadn’t actually heard it anywhere but knew it would get a rise out of Tony.</p>
<p>“There’s only a year age difference between us! I don't look that old!” Tony said indignantly before joining Rhodey in raucous laughter.</p><hr/>
<p>
  <i>~3 years after the attack…</i>
</p>
<p>Tony was currently focused on welding some metal fletchings onto a new missile prototype. He made the design based on something Ace had suggested a long time ago that he had never explored until now. He had to admit it was coming along very well and could help improve overall accuracy. She never wanted to focus on only building weapons, which is why he created the medical division for her to run, but she had a real knack for it. He missed being able to bounce ideas off of her when he got stuck. Tony was pulled from his work as an alert went off in the room. Confused, he pulled up his welding mask and shut off the torch. “JARVIS, what was that for?”</p>
<p>He responded promptly as usual. “Sir, there appears to have been a hit on some new information that may be related to miss-”</p>
<p>Tony didn’t hear the rest of what he said as he rushed to his monitors- tripping on some scrap metal laying on the floor in the process, he really needed to clean that up- and pulled up the algorithm he had running 24/7 since Ace was taken. He had made a program that would pick out any and all key words relating to her, ranging from her appearance to her name. Until now, nothing had been picked up. Not even a similar physical description of her. He pulled up what had been flagged as relevant. It appeared as though it was a snippet of an interrogation of a known terrorist. By what agency he had no idea. “JARVIS, you know I don’t speak Arabic. You really gonna make me say it?”</p>
<p>“My apologies, sir. I thought you were a genius.” he retorted, earning some grumbling from Tony.</p>
<p>JARVIS translated the text from Arabic to English, it read <i>‘The American woman was captured about three years ago. That is all I know.’</i> Tony was instantly disappointed. This didn’t tell him anything new, it could be about someone else entirely for all he knew. “Is that all there is, J?”</p>
<p>“There is one more thing.” More Arabic scrawled across the screen before it was swiftly translated once again. This time the words put a flare of hope in him as he took them in <i>‘I believe she is being held near Manjoh.’</i> This was something, potentially a big something.</p>
<p>“Call Rhodey.” The sound of the phone ringing echoed around the room as Tony paced. When the first call went unanswered he ordered JARVIS to call again. He had to tell Rhodey right away. He wasn’t too busy for this. This time it was picked up after the third ring. </p>
<p>Rhodey spoke in an irritated voice <i>“Tony, I swear if this isn’t impor-”</i> </p>
<p>Tony swiftly cut him off “I might have found where Ace is being held. JARVIS pinged some of the key words I had set. There was talk about an American woman who was taken three years ago being held in Manjoh.” He left out how he got the information, hoping Rhodey didn’t ask either. Rhodey sat in stunned silence for a long moment before he began solemnly. Luckily, he didn’t ask about the information.</p>
<p><i>“Tony-”</i> Rhodey sighed <i>“-you don’t even know for sure if it was her they were talking about. There are a number of American women who have been captured over the last three years, and probably even more just labeled missing that we don’t know about. I know you want this to be about her, I do too. But I can’t do anything with that little information.”</i></p>
<p>“I know, but can’t you just check the area out? Not even an official search party, just be a peeping Tom for a bit.” Tony was desperate, if this was about her and he ignored it… he’d never forgive himself.</p>
<p><i>“I can tell some people to be on the lookout for anything suspicious if they go through there, but that’s all I can do.”</i> Rhodey wanted to do more, he really did. He just didn’t have that kind of power. <i>“If anything comes up I’ll try to organize a survey of the area.”</i></p>
<p>“Thanks buddy. All I ask is for you to keep an ear on the ground. And maybe add a few more ears.” He wanted to ask for more, but knew his efforts would be fruitless. Rhodey was currently deployed- in Afghanistan of all places- and didn’t have as much leeway as he did in the states. </p>
<p><i>“I will. I gotta go now Tones, I’ll spread the word a bit.”</i> Then he was gone.</p><hr/>
<p>“Hey, Johnson!” Rhodey called for the young soldier when he spotted him in the barracks. The soldier stood up straight and regarded him. “You and your squadron will be traveling near Manjoh tomorrow, right?” The call with Tony a couple days ago had been echoing in his mind and he intended to keep his promise to spread the word around.</p>
<p>“Yes, sir.” Johnson replied, a little confused as to why Rhodey was asking.</p>
<p>“You know about my friend that went missing 3 years ago?” It was common knowledge at this point. Everyone knew how hard Rhodey had searched. At his nod Rhodey continued. “There is new information that may indicate she is being kept in the area. It’s very vague, but keep an eye out for any suspicious activity, alright?”</p>
<p>“Yes, sir!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The big escape is happening next chapter! We're getting closer to the reunionnnn.</p>
<p>As always; Questions, comments, criticisms, etc. are more than welcome!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ace and her make-shift family finally escape.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Your fist landed into the guard’s face with a sickening <i>crunch</i> that echoed against the rock walls as he flew down the hallway and landed in a cloud of dust. Nasir stood shocked for only a moment before he pulled out a gun and attempted to shoot you. Grabbing his wrist in a vice-like grip you twisted it until you felt the bones <i>snap</i>. You don’t even give him time to scream in pain before you grab him by the throat and slam him into the wall. His eyes widen with fear as you start to squeeze. You lean into his ear and whisper “I’ll see you in <b>Hell</b>” before you crush his windpipe and let his body fall into a heap on the ground. </p>
<p>You turn away from the scene of death you created and race back through the winding hallways towards the cell room. Halfway there you hear yelling start behind you. They found the bodies. You push your body faster as you finally reach the metal door separating you from the cell. You hurriedly push it open and slam it shut behind you before you sprint to the cell. You ignore the wide-eyed stares that greet you as you grab the bars of the door and pull. It instantly snaps off its hinges and you throw it to the ground. Surprisingly, Malik is the first to gather his senses “What’s happening Miss Ace?”</p>
<p>“We’re going to see the sun again.” You offer him a bright smile and watch the way his whole being lights up with joy. You rush past him to help Fatima off the ground and you address her and Amir “We’re going to have to fight our way out. You up for it?” Not that they really had a choice at this point. </p>
<p>A look of scary determination comes across Amir’s face as he nods “More than up for it.”</p>
<p>They all follow you back out of the cell towards the metal door separating them from the fight ahead. You stop by the door and listen to the frantic voices on the other side running past., there were a lot. You regret leaving Nasir’s gun behind. You look back to Amir who nods and yanks the door open. </p>
<p>You’re instantly met with men running by with guns. You snatch one and throw him behind you after snapping his neck. Amir slams the door shut once again. You look to him “Take his gun.” you glance to Malik who looks terrified “Malik, stay between us.” He nods frantically as Fatima tightens her hold on him from behind.</p>
<p>You can hear that men have gathered outside the door after your little snatch. You signal to take them by surprise. Once Fatima and Malik are safely hidden behind the door Amir quickly opens it. You burst into the hallway tackling two men as you go. You begin to fight them off as Amir starts firing into the group of men while peeking from behind the door. You take a punch to your jaw as another man joins the fray. You manage to grab his arm and fling him into three men standing nearby poised to shoot. They all crumble to the ground with groans of pain. You wipe the blood from your split lip as you look up to see the last man fall from Amir’s bullets.</p>
<p>You grab two guns and meet the family as they fully step into the hallway. You hand one to Fatima while keeping the other. “That was only five men. There’s probably gonna be more the closer we get to the exit… once we find it.”</p>
<p>“I may remember the way out from when we were initially brought here.” Amir says before moving off in a direction. You stay close to his side with your gun ready to shoot. Malik falls in line behind you as Fatima stays behind him.</p>
<hr/>
<p>You move through the halls shooting down anyone you see with no mercy. You justify it as self defense rather than cold-hearted revenge. Fatima and Amir aid in your shooting, the three of you working seamlessly to escape together. Malik stays close behind you as you move. The amount of men grow as you near what you hoped to be the exit of this hell hole. </p>
<p>As the last man standing between you and a big metal door that looked different to the rest fell, you felt a swell of hope. The three of you let your guns hang off your shoulders as you slowly approach the door, preparing to open it. </p>
<p>Suddenly there is a noise behind you. You and Fatima both spin on your heels. You instantly pull Malik behind you and attempt to grab Fatima as well. But she jumps in front of you as a man steps around the corner firing his gun. Her body is riddled with bullets as she covers most of your body with her own. You feel bullets pierce you along your exposed right side. One bullet lodges into your bicep, Another in your forearm, One deep in your ribs, and One in your thigh. Despite the blossoming pain you rush the man and tackle him. You’re able to straddle him as you grip his head in your hands, then you twist. His arms fall limp beneath you as his struggle ends. You sit there for a moment catching your breath and gritting your teeth against the pain.</p>
<p>Malik’s cries of emotional agony force you back to your feet as you rush to his side by Fatima’s fallen form. She’s struggling to breathe; blood runs from her mouth as she grips Malik and Amir’s hands. You feel tears come to your eyes as you watch the scene, a mother saying goodbye to her child and love. She mutters something low to them before she turns to you and uses her last breath to utter two last words. “Stay… <b>Strong</b>…” You sadly nod to her as silence falls into the space, only broken by Malik’s sobbing. </p>
<p>“I’m sorry..” You whisper as you hang your head. You promised to get all of you out of here, but had failed. She had a family to live for but lost her life protecting you. You swallow your tears and steel your resolve as you remember you still had her family to protect in her stead. You look to Amir as he holds a sobbing Malik with silent tears rolling down his own face. Your voice comes out croaky and broken. “We <i>have</i> to leave. Who knows how many more are back there.”</p>
<p>Your point is driven home as shouts enter your range of hearing. You pull the two boys up and head towards the door. You push it open and are instantly blinded. You all hold your arms over your eyes as you step into the outside world for the first time in years.</p>
<p>The wind blows through your matted hair and cools the blood dripping down your body, you inhale deeply and enjoy the smell of fresh air. The heat of the sun beating down on you forces a shiver through your body. You bring your arm down to hold Malik’s hand with a small smile on your face. “You feel the sun Malik?” He nods at a loss for words, the tears drying on his face.</p>
<p>Despite all of the pain, all the suffering, the death of a mother. You were finally free.</p>
<p>The three of you were snapped out of your awe as the shouting grew louder. You slammed the metal door shut and leaned against it to keep it closed. You looked Amir in his eyes when you spoke. “Take Malik and <b>run</b>. Jump start that jeep over there and <i><b>go</b></i>. I’ll hold them off.” You stare each other down, the protests in his eyes, before he nods. He knows you will all die if they stay. You couldn’t focus on protecting them and fighting at the same time. He grabs a screaming and kicking Malik and runs off towards the jeep in the distance. </p>
<p>You focus on keeping the door closed against the banging coming from the other side as you watch him force Malik into the jeep before he jumps in and hotwires it. He looks back one last time before he speeds off. You spot Malik staring at you from the back and you offer him a smile. Glad that he’s free.</p>
<p>Once the jeep fades into the distance you prepare yourself to fight to the death. You take a deep breath and release the door. A large group of men come tumbling from the depths of the cave. You use the door to slam against two men, sending them falling backwards into the others. You take the momentary confusion as a chance to raise your gun and fire into the group. They start to fall one by one until you run out of bullets. There are about five men left with their weapons aimed at you by the time you’re done. </p>
<p>They start shooting at you as you duck behind the open door, using it as a shield. The rain of bullets stops as you hear them shuffle forward slowly. With a roar you slam the door shut as hard as you could. It jams into the doorway with a loud bang and slight crunching sound. You watch it, waiting for it to open again. The banging begins and you smile when you realize they can’t open it. </p>
<p>The adrenaline that initially pumped through your body begins to slip away, your extra swell of strength along with it. You lean heavily against the door as pain wracks your body, slowly sliding down to a sitting position. Your right arm hangs limply by your right side, blood dripping off of it at an alarming rate. You reach up with your left arm and rip the sleeve of your shirt off and split it in two before you use each piece to wrap around each bullet hole in your arm, using your teeth and one good hand to tighten the knots. Next, you rip off both pant legs below the knees. You use one strip of pant to tie around the bullet embedded in your thigh, the other is used to be tied around your ribs. You’d have to wait until you found some help to get the bullets out. </p>
<p>After a few moments of rest you grit your teeth and push yourself to a stand, leaning heavily on your left leg. You look around for anything that can class as transportation. You see nothing. No jeeps, no humvees, no trucks, not even a bicycle. So, you do the only thing you can do. </p>
<p>You stumble off into the barren desert.</p><hr/>
<p>
  <i>Present day…</i>
</p>
<p>As you lay there with your eyes closed slowly fading into unconsciousness, senses dead to the world, you’re suddenly pulled into awareness as hands grab you. Your eyes snap open to take in the sight of soldiers- American soldiers you realized- standing over you. You start to fade again as you hear their voices exclaiming.</p>
<p>“She needs medical attention now!”</p>
<p>“<i>My god</i>, it’s-”</p>
<p>“Someone contact Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>They finally escaped... well... most of them. We're finally back to the beginning of chapter 1, present day in the story!</p>
<p>Also, I have a little trouble with writing fight scenes, so please let me know any critiques you may have!</p>
<p>As always; Questions, comments, criticisms, etc. are more than welcome!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Rhodey finds out Ace is alive.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rhodey was leaning over the open hood of a humvee working on the engine when a company of humvees rolled into the base. He straightened up when he saw doctors rush to one of the humvees and followed the figures with his eyes as they rushed someone into one of the medical buildings on a stretcher. He hoped no one was seriously injured. He turned back to the engine to continue to work when someone called for him.</p>
<p>“Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes!” borderline shouted with an urgent tone. </p>
<p>Rhodey turned to see a soldier making his way towards him in a hurry. One of the men from Johnson’s squadron if he was correct. Rhodey felt his pulse quicken a bit. “Yes, what is it?”</p>
<p>“It’s- uh- about your -uh-” The poor man stuttered as the full weight of Rhodey’s gaze landed on him. </p>
<p>“Spit it out, soldier” Rhodey ordered, albeit not harshly.</p>
<p>“We found your friend, sir.”</p>
<p>Rhodey froze. That’s who was on the stretcher. He didn’t waste another second before he turned and sprinted to the medical building he saw the stretcher enter.</p><hr/>
<p>Rhodey came to a stop, heavily out of breath from his sprint, as he entered the building. He looked around before making his way towards the doors that led further into the hospital. He was immediately stopped by a nurse who came out the doors before he reached them. “Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes, we just took her back. She’s being prepped for surgery as we speak.”</p>
<p>“How-” Rhodey cleared his throat trying to ease his nerves. “How is she?”</p>
<p>“She appears to be severely injured. She has four gunshot wounds, her skin is severely sunburned, and she has many lacerations across her back. She also suffers from severe malnutrition and dehydration. She was barely conscious when she was found, completely out very soon after.” The nurse explained in a calm and authoritative voice. He continued after he let the words sink in for Rhodey. “The surgery is to remove two bullets. One is embedded in her stomach just below her ribs, the other is in her right thigh. She should be completely fine. Feel free to wait out here. Someone will get you when her surgery is finished. I took the liberty of contacting the base commanders to make them aware of the situation, they shouldn’t bother you for a while.”</p>
<p>Rhodey nodded, still in a state of shock. All he could muster to say was a weak “Thank you” as he moved to sit in a chair. The nurse gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder and left through the doors he came. </p>
<p>He sat there for a few hours, unmoving, before the doors opened once more. A doctor was there this time, her body still clothed in surgery scrubs. Rhodey stood up and approached her immediately, rapidly firing his questions  “How is she? Did the surgery go well? Is she going to recover?”</p>
<p>The doctor held her hands up in a placating gesture. “I know you’re worried, Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes. But I need you to calm down so I can explain everything to you.” When Rhodey nodded his confirmation she continued. “I’m sure the nurse told you the basics of her injuries. She was shot four times, once in her right bicep, once in her right forearm, once in her stomach, and once in her right thigh. We were able to remove the bullets that were still lodged in her stomach and thigh, as well as stitch up the deeper lacerations on her back. She has more cuts and bruises in random places, but those are minor. Her knuckles are split pretty badly though. She is currently on an IV drip to counteract the dehydration and malnutrition. She will be unconscious for likely the rest of the day, maybe even into tomorrow, but you’re more than welcome to see her if you wish.” She didn’t even wait for a response as she added. “Last room on the left.”</p>
<p>“Thank you.” Rhodey rushed out as he pushed through the doors and quickly made his way to her room. </p>
<p>When he entered the room, he froze. The first thing he noticed was how skinny she was, all of her bones were showing. She looked like a walking skeleton. He felt tears come to his eyes, both of sadness and relief, as he took the rest of her in. His eyes trailed the bandages wrapped around her arm, the iv sticking out of her left hand, then up to her face. His gaze came to a stop on the scar above her left eye. It started in the middle of her forehead height-wise, middle of her eyebrow position-wise, and striked down over her eyebrow to the corner of her eye. It looked like it had been painful, it was obvious she had come close to losing her eye.</p>
<p>When he finished taking her in, he moved to the left side of her bed and took her hand as he pulled the chair closer. He was careful of the IV as he gripped her hand tightly, afraid if he let go she’d disappear. He sat there for a long time, staring at her and holding her hand, before he realized something. <i>Tony</i>. He needed to call Tony and let him know she’s alive.</p>
<p>Rhodey slowly stood and released her hand, heading to the door. He didn’t want to accidentally wake her, she needs the rest desperately. Once outside the room- literally just outside the door- he pulled his phone out and dialed Tony’s number. He brought it to his ear as it rang.</p><hr/>
<p>Tony was leaning against the bar, glass of scotch in hand, at some charity gala Obadiah made him attend. He was trying to make the most of the evening by flirting with a woman, hoping to bring her home for the night. The insistent buzzing in his pocket finally got on his nerves enough for him to answer the phone. He turned away from the woman as he brought his phone to his ear. “Rhodey, I swear you’re such a cock block-”</p>
<p>
  <i>“They <b>found her</b>, Tony”<i> At Rhodey’s word Tony froze mid-sentence. His scotch of glass fell from his hand and landed to the floor in a shatter. All eyes turned to him as silence fell in the immediate area. He side-stepped the mess he made and quickly exited the ballroom the event was held in. Happy rushed out after him, ever the dutiful bodyguard.</i></i>
</p><p>
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<p>
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</p>
<p>“You alright, boss?”</p>
<p>“Car. Home. Now.” Was Tony’s answer before he turned his attention back to his phone. Happy hurried to get the car from the valet. He waited until he was inside the car before he lowered his voice and asked hesitantly, dreading the answer. “Is she-?” </p>
<p>
  <i>“She’s alive, a little worse for wear, but <b>alive</b>. You were right Tony.”<i> Rhodey answers, already knowing what he was asking. Tony lets out a breath of relief as his head falls against the back of the seat. </i></i>
</p><p>
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<p>“Of course I was, I’m me.” He chuckles wetly before continuing much more seriously. “How is she, Rhodey?” He wants the specifics.</p>
<p><i>“Not that good. They found her barely conscious in the middle of the desert. She was rushed to surgery when she was brought to base to remove two bullets. She was shot four times, Tony.”</i> Rhodey paused to take a steadying breath, beginning again quieter. <i>“She’s <b>so skinny</b>, a bag of bones. Severe dehydration, malnutrition, the works.”<i></i></i></p><p>
  <i>
    <i></i>
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</p>
<p>
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    <i></i>
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<p>Tony was quiet for a long moment, listening to all the pain his best friend must be in “Have you talked to her yet?”</p>
<p>
  <i>“She hasn’t woken up yet. She’s been out since she got here. Doctor thinks she might be out until tomorrow.”</i>
</p>
<p>“I’m coming.” Tony stated determinedly.</p>
<p><i>“Tony-”</i> Rhodey sighed <i>“-you can’t just waltz onto a military base uninvited.”</i></p>
<p>“Then get me invited.”</p>
<p><i>“Those things take time, even if I put a request in now it probably wouldn’t go through until after she’s home anyways. Just wait there, be there waiting for her when she goes home.”</i> Rhodey said this gently; trying to keep Tony from barging onto a military base and causing issues for not only himself, but for Ace as well. She didn’t need that stress.</p>
<p>“Fine. But you keep me updated on every little thing.” Tony said sternly, not happy about not being able to be there for her.</p>
<p><i>“I will, Tones.”</i> With that,  Rhodey hung up and returned to the room. Tony stared at the ceiling of his car while his face broke out into the first genuine smile in a long time. </p>
<p>She’s alive and coming home.</p><hr/>
<p>The first sense to come alive was smell. You were able to smell the sterile scent of antiseptic in the air. The smell put a swell of hope and relief in your chest as your body fought itself to consciousness. The next sense to come to life was pain. You could feel the dull throbbing of the gunshot wounds and the cuts on your back. Your body began to wake faster, you were able to twitch a finger, then a toe, before you pried your eyes open slowly. </p>
<p>The bright lights overhead hurt your eyes and gave you an instant headache. You looked around the hospital room as the fog of unconsciousness fully lifted. You saw that you were currently alone in the room, but the chair beside your bed had an imprint in it as if it’d been sat in for hours. You looked out of the window to your right and saw the desert outside. You concluded you were still in Afghanistan, or somewhere close by. </p>
<p>You were pulled from your observations as the door opened and a man in a suit stepped in. He had short brown hair, equally brown eyes, and a kind face. He gave a tiny quirk of a smile as he stepped in. “Good to see you’re awake. We were beginning to worry.” </p>
<p>Your voice came out croaky and hoarse, throat painfully dry. “Who are you? Where am I?”</p>
<p>“Agent Coulson of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. You’re currently at an air force base in Afghanistan.” The man- Agent Coulson- said as he walked to your bedside and offered you a cup of water. You took it and chugged it greedily, the relief it brought your throat was immense. He continued once you drained the cup. “I’m here to talk about the circumstances surrounding your capture and subsequent escape.”</p>
<p>You choose to ignore that for now in favor of asking more of your own questions. You weren’t up to talking about anything just yet. “What’s the date?”</p>
<p>He seemed to understand as he answered kindly. “July 27th, 2006.” Before either of you could continue the door opened and Rhodey walked in. He stopped short at the sight of the man standing next to your bedside, growing defensive immediately of his -what he thought to be- unconscious friend.</p>
<p>“Who the hell are you?”</p>
<p>Agent Coulson barely glanced at Rhodey before he addressed you “We’ll talk more another time.” You could feel the moment Rhodey’s eyes strayed towards you and realized you were awake. He stood frozen as Agent Coulson saw himself out. The sound of the door closing broke him out of it. </p>
<p>He breathed your name as he slowly approached. “You’re awake.”</p>
<p>You smiled at him, as bright a smile you could muster through the pain and medication induced fogginess. “Yeah.” Your voice came out a little choked, beyond happy that Rhodey was here. You lifted your left arm in an invitation of a hug. Rhodey collapsed onto you gently and held you as tightly as he could without hurting you. You squeeze him a little tighter with your one arm as it really sinks in that it’s been over <i>three years</i> since you’ve seen him, or even felt safe like this. You let out a little wet laugh as you felt a tear hit your hospital gown. “I missed you too, buddy.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>One reunion down, the better one to go ;) Was anyone expecting Coulson to show up? </p>
<p>As always; Questions, comments, criticisms, etc. are more than welcome!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ace and Tony finally reunite.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Rhodey finally backed off from the hug you didn’t let him go far. You grabbed his hand as he moved to sit in the chair next to your bed. He looked into your eyes as if he was searching for something. You both stared at each other for a long moment before he broke the silence. “Are you ok?”</p>
<p>“As ok as I can be after being held captive for three years. I’m not dead, that’s the important part.” In truth, you weren’t ok. But that’s fine, you didn’t expect to be after everything you’ve gone through.You knew, physiologically speaking, your brain was going to start unpacking all the messed up shit it witnessed now that you feel safe. You definitely weren’t looking forward to the coming nightmares. You honestly don’t want to talk about how you are mentally so you change the subject. “How long ago was I found?” </p>
<p>He tightens his grip on your hand. “You were brought here two days ago. You were taken into surgery to remove a couple bullets and have been out since. You slept longer than the doctor thought you would, we were starting to get a little worried.”</p>
<p>You nod and sit in silence for a while staring at your blanket. You broach the main topic swirling in your mind. “When can I go home?”</p>
<p>He breaks out into a smile “I can have the doctor come in to check you out. If you’re healthy enough to travel, we can leave tomorrow on the next transport out. I got permission to escort you home so you would have a familiar face with you for the trip.”</p>
<p>“That’s great, Rhodey. Can you go get the doctor? I want to go home.” You stay looking at your blanket as you speak. You’d had enough eye contact for the time being. </p>
<p>“Of course. I’ll be right back.” He gets up and quickly leaves the room. He returns a few minutes later with a doctor in tow.</p>
<p>“It’s good to see you’re awake!” She greets cheerfully as she steps into the room. “Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes here says you want to go home, I’ll check you out and see if you’re fit enough for that much traveling.” You nod as she begins to examine you. She looks back at Rhodey before she pulls the blanket back. “If you would like to wait outside while I examine her, that would be great.” He nods and leaves the room after giving you a quick smile.</p>
<p>She pulls the blanket back and lifts the hem of your hospital gown up. She removes the bandages around the gunshot wound in your leg to examine it. Once she is finished, she wraps fresh bandages around it. She has you sit up as she unwraps the bandages that are wrapped around your entire torso, to cover both the gunshot in your stomach and all of the cuts across your entire back. It was a little uncomfortable when she examined your back, you still don’t like anyone looking at it. She hums in approval as she wraps fresh bandages back around your torso and upper chest. Next she examines both gunshots on your arm. When she’s done she pats your shoulder.</p>
<p>“I think you’re perfectly fine to travel. It may be painful due to all the stitches, but it wouldn’t be unsafe. I know you really want to go home and a little pain isn’t gonna stop that.” You give her a small smile in response as she continues. “You’ll need to have someone help change your bandages once a day. No bending at your stomach for three to five days. You should be fine to walk on your leg as long as you take it slow and easy. I do want you to wear a sling for your right arm for at least a week though, to avoid pulling the stitches as much as possible. Normally it wouldn’t be as long, but your body has been through a traumatic ordeal and is healing slowly. The best thing to do is to give it as much assistance as possible. You need to drink and eat plenty, no dietary restrictions. But I do recommend starting with softer foods. I’ll go let Colonel Rhodes know we’re done and inform him of everything as well.” After you nod she leaves the room to talk to Rhodey.</p>
<p>You start to doze off as you wait for him to come back in. You’re almost asleep when he returns with a big smile on his face. “Hey, heard the good news! You get to go home tomorrow!”</p>
<p>You smile back at him. “Yeah. I can’t wait to see Tony.”</p>
<p>“He can’t wait to see you either. He’s been blowing up my phone wanting updates about you. He’s missed you like crazy, we all have. Do you want to call him?”</p>
<p>You shake your head as you yawn. “I’d rather my first conversation after three years be in person.”</p>
<p>He nods. “I can understand that. Why don’t you get some rest now? You need it.”</p>
<p>You nod as you give in to sleep completely.</p><hr/>
<p>“Hey, wake up.” You’re awoken by a gentle shake of your shoulder and soft calls of your name. You blink your eyes open to see Rhodey standing there, looking giddy. “Hey sleepy head, it’s time to get up. The transport will be leaving in an hour. I have a fresh change of clothes for you and some toiletries in the bathroom. You can’t take a shower yet because of your stitches, but I can wash your hair and you can use baby wipes on the rest of you.” He says while moving to your other side and helping you into a sling. Once you’re situated he helps you sit up. “The nurses removed your IV while you were sleeping, so you’re good to just get up.”</p>
<p>He holds his hand out to you and pulls you to your feet. You gently add weight to your right leg as he helps you walk to the bathroom. When you catch sight of the toilet- and toilet paper- you almost cry. You hadn’t been able to use either for a very long time. He gently lets you go after saying he’ll be back when you’re done with everything to wash your hair for you, and to call for him if you need him. You appreciate how willing he is to help you, with no complaints at all. </p>
<p>Once you’ve done your business, wiped down what you could with the baby wipes, and changed into the fresh set of clothes laid out for you- all without looking into the mirror once, you couldn’t do that yet- you call for Rhodey to come wash your hair. He enters the bathroom and helps you kneel by the tub and gently lean you over the edge so your hair was hanging over your head. He runs warm water through your hair before shampooing it up and scrubbing your scalp. It felt so good to feel clean again, you hadn’t showered in three years. You felt brand new. When he was done, and had brushed your hair for you- which took a long time due to all the knots- it was time to go. </p>
<p>He stayed by your side as you slowly walked to the plane that would be taking you home, got seated, and took off towards home. Finally.</p><hr/>
<p>Tony stood waiting on the tarmac for Ace to arrive. He had arrived an hour early to be sure he was there in case she got there earlier than expected. He was anxious to see her, hug her, make sure she’s ok with his own eyes. He was so excited to see her again.</p>
<p>When the plane finally came into view his pulse quickened and his anxious excitement grew. As it landed and slowed to a stop he waited with bated breath. When the ramp started to lower he stood frozen as she came into view. His eyes immediately drank the sight of her in like he was a starving man.</p>
<p>Rhodey was right, she was super skinny. She had her right arm in a sling, walked with a noticeable limp, and sported a nasty new scar on her face. He knew there was more damage beneath the hoodie and pants she wore. His gaze stopped traveling her body and locked with hers for the first time in three long years.</p><hr/>
<p>You slowly limped your way to Tony, eyes never leaving his. He stood frozen in his spot as you approached, only breaking free of his stupor when you were a few feet away. He breathed your name, took a quick few steps forward, and wrapped you up in the best hug you’d ever had. You brought your left arm up around him and squeezed him tightly in return. You buried your face into his shoulder as tears leaked from your eyes and you sniffled. Freely crying for the first time in years.</p>
<p>“Shh, you’re ok. <i>I’ve got you. You’re <b>safe</b> now.</i>” He whispered in your ear as his grip tightened a bit. You didn’t even mind the pain, it was well worth it. He brought one hand up to the back of your head and held you there against him for a long time, keeping one arm wrapped tight around your waist. He kissed the top of your head as he leaned back and cradled your face in his palms, using his thumbs to wipe away your tears. He smiled down at you, eyes wet with his own tears, before he let out a little “Hey.”</p>
<p>You smiled and let out a giggle that made his own smile widen. “Hi.” You both just stare at each other for a long time with matching smiles before someone clears their throat behind Tony. you look past him and realize that Happy and Pepper are there as well. You reluctantly break free from Tony and are immediately pulled into a hug by Happy.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you.” He whispered into your ear. You squeeze him a little tighter. </p>
<p>“It’s not your fault, Happy.” You never thought that he would feel guilty about what happened. It made sense though, not only is he fiercely protective of you in general, it’s part of his job as Tony’s bodyguard to protect you as well. You step out of his hug with a pat to his shoulder and turn to the last person there, Pepper.</p>
<p>She looks like she’s on the verge of tears as you open your left arm and she collapses into the hug against you. You stumble back a bit, still unsteady on your leg, and feel a warm hand steady you at your lower back. You wince a little from the pain as you hear Tony chuckle behind you. “Easy there Pep, she’s wobbly like a baby penguin still.”</p>
<p>“Oh my Gosh, I’m sorry! I was just-” Pepper began a little frantically, stepping back from the hug at the same time.</p>
<p>“It’s fine Pepper, I’m sturdier than I look.” You send a fake glare towards Tony as you pull her back into the hug.  “I’m happy to see you too. You owe me ten bucks right?”</p>
<p>She laughs wetly at your reference to the last conversation the two of you had “Probably more like a hundred at this point.” </p>
<p>“I can only imagine.” You step back from the hug and lean against Tony a bit as he steps up to your right side. He wraps an arm carefully around your waist and takes some of your weight for you. He starts leading you towards the car. </p>
<p>He looks down at you with a big smile. “Let’s get you <i><b>home</b></i>.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>They're finally back together! The road to recovery is gonna be hard for Ace, but Tony will be there for her... if she lets him. </p>
<p>As always; Questions, comments, criticisms, etc. are more than welcome!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ace's first day home.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The four of you settled into the car, Happy driving of course with Pepper in the passenger seat, you and Tony in the back. You sit leaning against the window looking out at the world, taking it in. It’s quiet for a few minutes before Tony breaks the silence. “So, I’ve been thinking…”</p>
<p>“Hmm?” Too zoned out to give a proper reply.</p>
<p>“Why don’t you move in with me?” The hesitancy was clear in his voice, like he was afraid of pushing you to do something. You looked at him for a moment before shrugging and looking out the window again.</p>
<p>“Ok.”  You kept a sly eye on his reflection in the window to see his reaction.</p>
<p>“<i>Ok</i>? That’s it?” He looked baffled as he spoke. He clearly thought it’d take more than that to convince you.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I practically lived there before anyways.” Your stomach growled <i>loudly</i> when you finished speaking, causing him to grin.</p>
<p>“Someone’s hungry.” He teased lightly. “Take your pick.”</p>
<p>You didn’t even hesitate in your answer. “Burger King.”</p>
<p>“Happy, you heard the woman.”</p>
<p>Happy pulled off the road at the next Burger King and ordered a ridiculous amount of cheeseburgers. You started shoveling burgers down your throat, it’s the first real food you’d had in three years. You closed your eyes as you ate, savoring the taste. When you opened them you saw Tony looking at you amused. “That good?”</p>
<p>“You have no idea.” His face falls a little as he takes in the accidental double meaning behind your words. You offer him a small smile as you shovel the next burger in. An awkward silence falls into the car before you offer a little mercy to break it. “You have a lot of tech to catch me up on.”</p>
<p>His face lights up as he begins talking about various things he made. You listen to him ramble with a smile on your face for the rest of the ride.</p><hr/>
<p>When you start down the long driveway to Tony’s- well now yours too you suppose- mansion you can’t help but stare at it. You were finally home. You barely register Happy parking the car, stepping out, opening your door, and offering a hand for assistance. You take his hand and he helps you out. You take up the rear of the group as you limp into the house. JARVIS immediately greets you. “Welcome home, ma’am. It’s very good to see you.”</p>
<p>“It’s good to see you too, JARVIS.” You turn to Tony with an eyebrow raised. “Home, huh? You already knew I’d say yes?”</p>
<p>“I wasn’t gonna let you say no.” He grins at you before continuing into the house, towards the stairs. ”I had the room next to mine prepped for you. I thought you might want to be close.” You smile because you know that it’s the other way around, <i>he</i> wanted you close. No complaints here. “I also had some of your clothes brought from your house. The rest of your things will be here tomorrow.”</p>
<p>He stops outside the door to your new bedroom and turns to you. You give him a soft smile as you place your hand on his arm. “Thank you Tony.”</p>
<p>He nods and offers a smile back. “No problem. Let me know if you need anything.” He turns and heads back downstairs to Happy and Pepper.</p>
<p>The first thing you do when you get into the bedroom is to carefully take your sling off followed by your shirt. You hadn’t changed your bandages yet, and you wanted to clean up a bit from the long flight. You head into the bathroom while trying to unwrap the bandages, failing with only the use of one hand. You sigh frustratedly when you realize you won’t be able to do it yourself. Someone else seeing your back was not something you wanted to deal with right away. You run through the options in your head, Tony was a no-go. He was the last one you wanted to see your back. Happy probably wouldn’t appreciate having to wrap bandages around your entire torso, meaning your boobs. So, Pepper it is. “JARVIS, is Pepper still here?”</p>
<p>“Yes ma’am. She is currently in the living room with Sir.”</p>
<p>“Can you ask her to come here please?”</p>
<p>“Ms. Potts is on her way.”</p>
<p>“Thank you JARVIS.” You sit on a bench in the bathroom while you wait for her. She knocks on the door a minute later. When you tell her to come on in she opens the bathroom door and peeks her head in. </p>
<p>“JARVIS said you wanted me.” You nod and wave her in with your good arm. She enters fully and closes the door behind her.</p>
<p>“I- uh- need some help. I can’t change my bandages on my own. Sorry to bother you with this.” You say this shyly, not liking the situation one bit.</p>
<p>“It’s not a bother! I’m more than happy to help. Just tell me what to do.” </p>
<p>“I just need you to unwrap my bandages, clean around the stitches- you can’t get them wet, and then put some fresh bandages on. There should be a rag in one of the cabinets.” She nods and gets to work finding a rag. She finds one easily and sets it aside on the counter, along with a fresh roll of bandages, before she moves towards you to start unwrapping your bandages. You stop her before she starts. “It’s not pretty.”</p>
<p>“I’m sure it’s fine.” She pats your shoulder before starting to unwrap the bandages. She’s unable to hold back the audible gasp that escapes when her eyes take in your back. You let out a silent sigh and hang your head as she gently cleans your back with shaking hands. When she finishes cleaning your back you gently take the rag from her and hand her the roll of bandages. She wraps the new bandages around you after you clean your own stomach. </p>
<p>“I can do the rest. Thank you.” You say gently, hiding the sadness lacing your voice. You hated that she had to do this for you. No one should have to see the state of your back. You hadn’t even had the courage to look for yourself yet, but you could feel how it resembled shredded cheese. She nods and quickly turns to leave. You hear her sniffle as the door closes behind her. The sound makes you feel worse than you already did. You solemnly finish cleaning yourself and changing the bandages on your arm and thigh.</p><hr/>
<p>Tony looks up as he hears Pepper’s heels on the stairs. “Hey, how is she…” He trails off when he sees the unshed tears in her eyes. “What’s with the misty eyes?”</p>
<p>“I just can’t imagine what she’s gone through.” Pepper sniffles again. “She has so many scars and almost an equal amount of healing cuts on her back. It looks like she was sliced with something over and over again. It was just hard seeing her like that.”</p>
<p>“She’s tough Pep, if she wasn’t she wouldn’t be here. Don’t pity her.” Tony knew what it felt like to be pitied. When his parents died that was all he saw in people’s eyes, it made him feel worse about everything. He didn’t want people walking on ice around him, and he knew Ace doesn’t want that either. “Treat her normally, she needs that.”</p>
<p>“I know.” Pepper sighs before sitting down next to Happy on the couch and puts her head in her hands. “God, I probably made her feel awful. I couldn’t even keep my hands from shaking when I was changing her bandages!”</p>
<p>“I’m sure she’s fine Pepper.” Happy said. Tony’s eyes linger on the steps that lead up to Ace.</p><hr/>
<p>Later that night as the sun was setting you found yourself out on the balcony watching the ocean below. You had avoided everyone since the experience with Pepper earlier, pretending to be asleep whenever someone came to check on you. Most frequently was Tony. Pepper and Happy left a while ago, and when Tony disappeared into his workshop you made your way to where you now sat. You sat there for about an hour before the door slid open behind you.</p>
<p>“Hey, what are you doing out here?” Tony asks as he steps out.</p>
<p>“Just enjoying the fresh air and view.” It was a nice change of pace from that god awful cave and the hospital room. Seeing the sun, ocean, and clouds in the sky gave you a sense of safety now. Your attention is drawn to Tony as he sets a glass down on the table next to you and takes his place in the chair on the other side. You eye it as you realize it’s wine.</p>
<p>He sees you staring at the glass of wine. “Thought you might want something to help you relax.” </p>
<p>“I’m good, but thank you Tony.” No way in hell were you touching the wine. You weren’t touching alcohol ever again. Your throat tightens a bit as you remember the feeling of being paralyzed, the <i>helplessness</i> as you were injected time and time again. You look away from the glass and out into the ocean once more, refusing to meet Tony’s eyes.</p>
<p>“You going sober on me? I need my drinking buddy.” Tony teases. He looks confused as he watches your reaction to what he thinks is a simple glass of wine. </p>
<p>“I just don’t want any Tony.” You snap a little more harshly than you intended. He looks surprised before putting his hands up in a placating manner. Not only have you never refused a drink before, but you also never snapped at him unless he did something truly idiotic. He goes to speak again, probably to question why you don’t want it or say something snarky about it, but you cut him off. “I’m gonna head to bed. Goodnight.”</p>
<p>You don’t look at him as you quickly stand, pulling the stitches on your thigh a little in the process, and leave him out on the balcony completely baffled. You hear him snap out of his surprise and call your name behind you. You ignore him as you rush away, hoping he won’t follow. You weren’t ready to tell him what happened yet. Not about how you were whipped and beaten. Not about how you were experimented on. Not about how you found a family there and then lost a member of that family. Not about your new strength. Not about any of it. </p>
<p>Once you reach your bedroom you change into pajamas and climb into bed. Tony tried knocking on your door to talk, but you lied and said you were too tired and just wanted to sleep. He eventually gave up and walked away. You lie awake for hours, not only thinking about what happened with Tony, but also not able to feel comfortable in the soft bed. You’d grown used to the hardness of the ground. It makes you miss the medicine you were on in the hospital, it had allowed you to sleep with no issues. You eventually give up. You grab a blanket, god how you missed the warmth a blanket provides, and a pillow before you lay down on the floor. The thoughts floating through your head about how different things are now slowly fade away as you finally succumb to sleep.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Chapter is a little later today. I kept getting distracted while trying to write it lol. Anyways, Ace is finally home for real! It's gonna be a struggle for her to adapt back into regular life. </p>
<p>As always: Questions, comments, criticisms, etc. are more than welcome!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>How the first morning home goes for Ace.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next morning Tony heads up to Ace’s room to wake her for some breakfast. He had their favorite donuts delivered for them. He hadn’t had them since she was captured, he only ever ate them with her. He opens the door quietly expecting to see her asleep on the bed, but a small spike of panic hits him when he sees it empty and the balcony door open. The worst thoughts come to mind as he moves towards the balcony and frantically asks. “JARVIS, where’s-” </p>
<p>He cuts himself off when he sees feet poking out from the other side of the bed. He walks further into the room with his brows furrowed in confusion. He comes to a stop at her feet, staring at her form. He lets out a chuckle as he taps her foot with his own gently to wake her up. His laughter dies, replaced with worry, as she shoots up with wide eyes and heavy breathing. He raises his hands. “Woah, hey it’s just me.”</p>
<p>She seems to pull herself together in a mere second, all traces of panic gone within moments. It’s a little unnerving to see the mask go up so quickly. She offers him a small smile. “Good morning.”</p>
<p>“Morning, you ok?” Tony asks, eyeing her. She was still breathing a little more heavily than usual. Her blanket was pooled around her waist, hair a mess, and pajama shirt slightly askew. </p>
<p>“I’m fine, you just surprised me. I haven’t slept that hard in a long time, usually I’m awake at the slightest noise.” Tony nods at her explanation. It saddens him to think that she had to adapt to wake up quickly in the first place. </p>
<p>“I’ll try to make some more noise next time.” He smiles at her comfortingly. He knows she’s just putting up a front. Her face softens into a genuine smile.</p>
<p>“Thanks.” The two of them stare at each other for a moment, an understanding passing between them. He’d be there for her when she needed him.</p>
<p>Tony clears his throat. “Well, breakfast is here. Come eat when you’re ready.” He then turns on his heel and leaves the room.</p><hr/>
<p>As Tony shuts the door behind him you let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding. Your heart is still pounding a bit from when he first woke you. It surprised you that you didn’t wake up when he first entered the room, but you guess that’s what feeling safe does. You sleep harder, easier. It was an odd feeling. You take a minute to calm down before moving.</p>
<p>You get up off the ground and stretch your sore muscles. You grab your sling and put it on while walking towards the door. You refused to sleep in it, your arm was healed enough for that. You limp down the stairs slowly and head into the kitchen where Tony is. He looks at you then points to a pile of boxes on the counter. “Donuts.”</p>
<p>You nod as you sit at the counter and grab one of the boxes. You smile a bit when you see it’s from your favorite place. You look up as you shove a donut into your mouth to find him already staring at you. “What?”</p>
<p>“Did you piss the bed?” </p>
<p>“What??” Completely confused.</p>
<p>“That’s the only reason I can think of for you sleeping on the floor.”</p>
<p>The fact that he looked so serious when asking if you pissed the bed drew a smile from you. “I didn’t piss the bed. I just couldn’t get comfortable.”</p>
<p>“You chose the floor over a $10,000 mattress?” He asked like you were insane. </p>
<p>“It was too soft, I got used to sleeping on the floor.” You shrug nonchalantly. “I’m gonna have to get used to a bed again.” He falls silent, true feelings hidden behind a mask of indifference. The mask he showed the media. You don’t like it. “Don’t <i>mask</i> me.”</p>
<p>“What?” Now it was his turn to be confused. Whether that confusion was real or not was left to wonder.</p>
<p>“Don’t show me the mask you show the damn media. That’s worse than pitying me.” You spit this out, truly mad that he felt the need to hide how he was feeling. His face softens into a small smile.</p>
<p>“You’re right.” His face moves into a grin. “You don’t hear that often, so savor it.”</p>
<p>“Don’t I know it.” You grin back at him. He places a cup of coffee in front of you, black how you like it. You take a sip and practically moan at how good it is. “Mmmmm, this is delicious.”</p>
<p>He cocks a brow up in amusement. “If I knew that good coffee was all I needed for you to make those noises-” You cut him off by chucking a half-eaten donut at his face. He laughs as he catches the donut with a wink and finishes it in a couple bites, chuckling the whole time. </p>
<p>“You’re the worst. I just haven’t had coffee in a while, three years without the nectar of the gods is rough!” You punctuate your point by taking another sip and purposeful- less moan like than before- groan. He laughs at your antics. You smile at the sound, you had missed his laughter so much.</p>
<p>“When you’re done molesting the coffee let’s go down to the workshop. You have some catching up to do.” He starts heading to the stairs down to the workshop as you fill your cup back up to the brim and then follow him. He stops at the top of the steps. “You good to get down the steps? These are steeper than the ones to upstairs…”</p>
<p>You smile at his concern, it was kind of adorable. You pat him on the arm before gesturing for him to go first. “I’ll be fine, but you might want to go first so you’re not stuck behind a turtle walking in quicksand.” </p>
<p>“And miss you waddling down the steps, baby penguin? Nope. You first.” You smack his shoulder and hand him your coffee before starting down the steps. You know he just wants to be there in case you needed help, didn’t mean you weren’t annoyed by his baby penguin comment. He chuckles behind you as he follows you slowly down the steps. You reach the bottom and enter your code into the keypad, pleased to see it still worked. You take a deep breath as you enter the workshop.</p>
<p>The smell of oil and metal fills your nose, comforting in it’s familiarity. You go to step forward but are stopped by DUM-E and U beeping excitedly at you while rolling towards you. You pat their arms as they stop in front of you, still beeping. “Hey guys, I missed you too. I trust you’ve been doing my job and taking care of Tony for me?” </p>
<p>“I don’t need anyone taking care of me.” You give him a side eye and raised brow so he amends his statement. He moves past you further into the workshop as he speaks. “Except you of course.” You smile as you squeeze past the bots and follow him in. </p>
<p>You look around the garage to see if anything has changed since you were last here. Your observing comes to a stop when your eyes land on the workspace Tony had always kept aside for you. It was untouched, even the tools you had hastily left out that day were still laying there. Oddly enough though, it wasn’t dusty. That means he must have kept it clean. You go to say something about it to him but something else catches your eye. Red, yellow, and a little orange. You turn to see the 1932 Flathead Roadster in all its glory. </p>
<p>It’s base paint is a shiny black, but flames are painted on the front and side. The wheels are white and the whole look is pulled together by red seats and accents on the car. You approach the car and gently run your fingers along the side. ”I see you finished the restoration of the Roadster.” You look to him as he looks up from doing something at one of his monitors. “You added the flames?”</p>
<p>“Yup.” He grins at you. “I like how cheesy and loud they are.”</p>
<p>“I knew you would.” You grin back at him. </p>
<p>“Come here, I have something for you.” He gestures for you to come to him. You walk over to his side as he turns in his chair to face you. In his hands is a long, thin, black box. He opens it to reveal a gold bracelet- or anklet considering it’s length, it looks too long for a wrist- sitting delicately in it. The design of the chain is reminiscent of Celtic knots, a simple yet also intricate design. He stands up and squats down as he pulls it out of the box, he takes the delicate jewelry in his hands and clips the ends together around your ankle. You were right, an anklet.</p>
<p>“It’s beautiful, Tony. Did you make this?” You knew his handiwork when you saw it. You put your hand in his hair when he looks up at you briefly. It falls back to your side as he stands again, smiling down at you.</p>
<p>“Yeah. It has a tracker embedded into it. In case anything ever happens again, I can find you.” The words weren’t said, but they floated between you anyways. <i>‘I can’t lose you again.’</i>  You raise your hand and gently put it on his cheek, he leans ever so slightly into your touch.</p>
<p>“Thank you.” You said this so softly, so genuinely. The two of you stare into each other’s eyes lost in the moment. Suddenly a loud <i>metallic clang</i> rang throughout the workshop. You barely register Tony turning away from you, yelling at a guilty looking DUM-E.</p>
<p>“What have I told you about…”</p>
<p>His voice fades away as you find yourself back in that cell. Back in the cold darkness that belonged to it. You look around for any source of light or warmth. You hear that metallic clang again and as you turn you see Nasir standing at the cell door. His face morphs in an evil smile as he steps into the cell, stalking towards you with a whip in his hand...</p>
<p>You’re snapped from the memory you found yourself in by a hand on your shoulder. You spin around expecting to see Nasir there- whip poised to strike- but you’re met by Tony’s concerned face instead. “You good? Zoned out on me for a second there. Not gonna pass out or anything, right? Because I really don’t want to have to carry you to the couch.”</p>
<p>You swallow past your suddenly dry throat. “I’m fine. Just need some water. I’ll be back.” You step away from him, not wanting any physical contact at the moment, and head upstairs. You  lean with your good hand clenching the kitchen sink and let your head hang there. You didn’t notice you were shaking until then, or how sweaty you suddenly were. You grab a glass and fill it with water. You chug it down. You sigh as you finally calm down. You couldn’t go back to the workshop now, not after what just happened. You go to the balcony off of the main living room and plop down into a chair. You sigh again as you take in the blue ocean below and even bluer sky above.</p>
<p>You knew everything would catch up to you eventually.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>First hints at some PTSD for Ace. She went through a lot, only makes sense.</p>
<p>As always; Questions, comments, criticisms, etc. are more than welcome!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tony and Ace talk a little about what happened to her.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The balcony is where Tony found you a couple hours after you booked it from the workshop. You heard the door slide open and him step out as he spoke. “You know, ‘be right back’ usually means 5 minutes, not two hours.”</p><p>“Sorry, just got lost in the view.” He hums as he sets a mug down on the table next to you. He takes his place in the chair next to you. It’s almost like deja vu from the night before, him joining you on the balcony and offering a drink. Only this time it was coffee. You grab it and take a sip. “Thank you.”</p><p>“You wanna talk about it?” Said so casually you’d almost think he was talking about the weather. But no, by <i>it</i> he meant many things. Why you refused the wine last night. Why you shot up from sleep like a madwoman. Why you high-tailed it from the workshop like it was on fire. Why he seems to always find you out on the balcony. <i>What happened in that cave.</i></p><p>“Not really.” You don’t think you’d ever be ready to talk about what really happened. The experimentation, the torture, Malik, Amir, and... Fatima. It was painful to even think about, let alone speak about.</p><p>“You know I’m here for you, right? You don’t have to go through this alone.” He looks at you in a rare moment of pure candidness, showing each and every emotion in his eyes. The sadness and pain radiating through them at your expense. The fear that you weren’t ok. The care he held for you. Maybe you could start small.</p><p>“I was- uh- held underground, in a cave.” You were awkward as you spoke, you’d gotten used to locking down everything for not only your benefit, but for the others around you as well. You think about Malik, about how much he missed the sun. You hoped he was enjoying it wherever he was right now. “I didn’t see the sun again until I escaped.”</p><p>You could almost feel the realization dawning for him, why you loved sitting on the balcony. Why it seemed like your new safe place. Then you could feel him connecting some dots, ones that weren’t necessarily accurate. “Is that why you left the garage?” <i>because it’s underground.</i></p><p>“No. I really did just need some water and then got distracted.” You knew he didn’t believe you, not with the look he was directing at you. You didn’t know how to explain that a simple sound sent you into some kind of spiral, so you weren’t going to. Before he could pry further, the balcony door slid open again, this time with Pepper stepping out. </p><p>“Tony, I need you to sign some things for-” She stopped abruptly when she spotted you sitting there as well. She sighed with a little annoyance. “JARVIS, why didn’t you tell me Ace was out here as well?”</p><p>“You didn’t ask, Ms. Potts.”</p><p>His sassy reply draws a small smile from you. You stand with a small groan and aim a bigger smile her way. “Don’t worry Pep, he’s all yours. I was about to leave anyway.” You go to head back inside when her hand on your arm stops you. You subtly take a step back from the physical contact. You see Tony’s eyebrow raise slightly at the reaction, you’d never been one to shy away from contact with your friends. </p><p>“I’m sorry for the way I reacted yesterday. I promise I won’t be as shocked when I change your bandages today.” She says lowly, not really wanting Tony to hear.</p><p>“It’s fine Pepper. I can see how it was a shock for you. I’d expect that kind of reaction from anyone but a seasoned doctor. You sure you’re up for changing the bandages again?” Hell, you were technically a doctor and didn’t even have the courage to see yourself yet. Sure, you used your degrees to advance medical technology mainly, but you were still fully educated in the human body and medicines. If technology hadn’t been your passion, you’d probably have become an ER doctor. </p><p>“I’m sure. I’ll be up when I’m done with Tony to do it in fact.”</p><p>“Alright, I’ll go get undressed then.” You send Tony a glare when he wiggles his eyebrows at your statement. He goes to speak but you beat him to it. “Don’t even say it.” He playfully pouts as you shake your head and go inside.</p>
<hr/><p>Later that day, you and Tony are enjoying some Pizza for lunch. Pepper had changed your bandages and even washed your hair for you earlier. You were donning fresh clothes, something you knew you’d never take for granted again. Tony was in the midst of telling you a story of when he stole Rhodey’s date accidentally. </p><p>“I had no idea she was there with him! We ran into each other outside of the bathroom, and of course me being me, she couldn’t resist my charm. She was wrapped around my arm when I went to tell Rhodey I was leaving for the night to, ya know-” He makes some wild hand gestures that makes you laugh so hard you snort. “-and that I’d meet his new girlfriend another time. Needless to say, that didn’t end well.”</p><p>“Poor Rhodey.” you finally manage through your laughter. “Reminds me of when some guy was hitting on me just to be close to you. He was so obvious! He kept looking at your ass all night.”</p><p>“See! No one can resist my charm.” He says smugly with a little shrug.</p><p>You go to rebut him but JARVIS interrupts you. “Sir, Ma’am. I apologize for interrupting but I feel you need to see this.” The TV turns on to the news, your name being said by the news anchor and a picture of you from three years ago were the first things you both noticed.</p><p>“-has been found alive over 3 years after her initial capture. Witnesses state that she was severely injured in the middle of the desert when she was discovered less than a week ago. Her current whereabouts and condition are unknown. Some say that she is at home recovering from her experience, but that has yet to be confirmed. We have not received a response from Stark Industries as of yet.”  </p><p>Tony’s outburst startled you. He stood up and borderline yelled “Who the <i>fuck</i> told them you were found?!”</p><p>“It was probably one of the soldiers who found me. It’s not a big deal Tony.” You say gently. You knew no matter what that people were gonna know you were found. It was only a matter of time.</p><p>“It is a big deal! Now these vultures are going to be all over you, Obi, and I. Hell, probably Pepper too! You won’t be able to leave the house without being swarmed.” He plops back down onto the couch beside you and sighs heavily. His tone is gentler when he talks again “You’re supposed to be able to recover without a bunch of blood-sucking parasites leeching off of you.”</p><p>You swallow down your reluctance for physical contact and lean against Tony’s side. His arm comes around your shoulders and gently squeezes you. You melt a little in his warmth.  “I’ll be fine Tony. I’ve taken on things far worse than some reporters.”</p><p>His arm tightens around you a bit “I know you have. You’re one hell of a tough cookie baby penguin thing.” </p><p>You pull away from him with a huff of laughter “Just had to ruin the moment, didn’t you?”</p><p>“Emotions aren’t my strong suit. Being a genius, yes. Emotions, no.” He shrugs with a smile before he pulls you back into him. It’s silent for a moment before “I’m still gonna ruin whoever told the media’s life.” You both break down into laughter.</p>
<hr/><p>You were being held on your knees, the whip cracking through the air and harshly landing on your back. You bit back every single cry of pain, swallowing them after each hit. Nasir’s laughter rang in your ears, followed by the sound of his voice. “I do not know why you hold back. You are weak, show it.”</p><p>You continue to take the whipping, along with a few kicks, before you’re suddenly dropped onto the ground. Footsteps make you look up, shocked to see Malik standing there with tears on his face. <i>“You said we’d leave together. <b>All of us.</b> You’re the reason my mama is dead! You’re the reason she didn’t get to see the sun again!”</i> He raises his hand, whip now hanging from it, and brings it down with a crack.</p><p>You jolt awake looking around with wide eyes, breathing heavily. When you remember you’re in your bed, safe at home, you bring one of your shaking hands up to wipe the sweat off of your forehead. You jump when a voice explodes in the silence. “Ma’am, you seem to be in distress.” Just JARVIS. Not Nasir. Not Malik. “Would you like me to contact Sir?”</p><p>“No-” You swallow to ease the dryness of your throat and try again. ‘No, I’m fine JARVIS. But thank you.” You really didn’t want Tony seeing you like this. Fresh out of a nightmare. You shakily get up and limp into the bathroom. You splash some cold water in your face before cupping your hands and drinking some. You lean back feeling a little better, but freeze when you look into your reflection. This is the first time you’ve looked at yourself in three years. </p><p>You’re so skinny, unbelievably so. Your eyes have big dark bags underneath them, cheekbones prominent features sticking out. Your skin is pale except for a few visible scratches here and  there. You look ghastly. Your eyes trail to the angry scar over your left eye, a permanent reminder of the day of the attack. The day everything changed. </p><p>You turn away from the mirror and stalk back into the bedroom, you go right past your bed and out into the hallway. You head downstairs, through the living room, and out onto the balcony. You could have sat out on the one attached to your bedroom, but this one is bigger and has a slightly better view. You settle into a chair and look at the stars. You start counting them pointlessly to keep your mind preoccupied. If you didn’t, it would drift back to the nightmare or your horrible appearance. You hardly felt like yourself anymore.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I had a little trouble writing this chapter. But hey, they talked a little. Very little, but progress is progress! Baby penguin steps ;)</p><p>As always; Questions, comments, criticisms, etc. are more than welcome!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tony and Ace go to lunch.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next week passed much the same. You spent most of your time with Tony. The two of you spent long hours in the garage. He spent the week catching you up on all the technology he’d developed while you were away. Thankfully, there hadn’t been any more incidents involving loud metal noises. When you weren’t with him, you were out on the balcony enjoying your freedom. You’d gotten your stitches out a couple days ago and had mostly healed quite nicely. There were still scabs all over you, but you could at least shower on your own- which felt amazing- and not have to worry about Pepper changing your bandages. You ditched the sling when you had the stitches removed, so you’d been working on gaining strength and mobility back into your right arm. You were also gaining back some of the weight you lost, no longer looking like a bag of walking bones. </p><p>The main thing that really put a damper on life was the nightmares. You had at least one a night, and usually couldn’t fall back to sleep afterwards. The bags under your eyes were practically permanent fixtures. Tony had asked a few times about how you were sleeping, but you dodged the question each time. You just couldn’t bring yourself to talk about the nightmares. You also dodged any of his questioning about what happened to you. He tried not to pry too much, but you could tell he had questions each time you avoided contact or any alcohol. </p><p>As you grew healthier- finally- you could really feel how different your body was than before your kidnapping. You were stronger, <i>a lot</i> stronger. You had to be careful when you shut doors, otherwise they slammed shut. As you healed you got even stronger, it was difficult learning to control your newfound strength. You also found that whenever you were pumped full of adrenaline, a discovery courtesy of all the nightmares, your strength was magnified. You had set a glass down on the counter gently and managed to crack it right in half and shatter the glass after a particularly bad nightmare. That was difficult to explain away to Tony.</p><p>
  <i>“How the hell did you break the counter?”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“I fell into it. Apparently I’m heavier than I look.”</i>
</p><p>He didn’t exactly believe you, but let it go nonetheless. It was because of this that you found yourself down in the workshop, swearing JARVIS to secrecy as you took your own blood quickly. Tony was out at a meeting so you had only a little time to draw your blood. Getting caught with a syringe full of blood was not something you desired. You were going to study it in hopes of finding a way to reverse whatever they did to you. The strength felt nice at times, like when picking up an entire engine effortlessly, but other times it was terrifying. You didn’t want to accidentally hurt anyone. Especially Tony.</p><p>You finish drawing your blood with the syringe and move to a microscope you had at your table. You put a drop of blood between two slides and put it underneath the microscope. You twist the knobs until it focuses properly, furrowing your brows at the result. Your blood looked <i>completely normal</i>. There wasn’t a single thing that stood out at you.</p><p>Out of curiosity you head upstairs to Tony’s bar and return with the cheapest bottle of bourbon you could find, not wanting to waste something expensive. You crack it open and add a drop to the blood under the microscope. You look back into it and watch with morbid fascination as all of the cells slowed to a stop. That’s what alcohol does to you. You watch for a few minutes before the cells slowly come back to life. </p><p>The blood <i>looked</i> normal but it definitely wasn’t.</p><p>Before you could do anything else JARVIS announces “Sir has arrived home and is currently on his way down.” You quickly grab the slide of blood and the syringe before shoving them into a drawer carelessly. You grab a blueprint laying on your desk and pretend to be studying it as the door opens behind you.</p><p>“Hey, let’s go out and get lunch.” Tony says as he steps in, but stops once he spies the bourbon bottle on your table. “You won’t drink with me, but you’ll drink alone? I feel slighted.”</p><p>“I wasn’t drinking it. I was using it to clean my anklet. Ya know, disinfect it and shine it up.” you said as casually as you could muster. He raises an eyebrow at you.</p><p>“Uh huh… so, lunch?”</p><p>“As in going out for lunch, or ordering in like usual?” You actually kind of hoped to go out for once. Cabin fever was getting to you a little bit, plus you could use something to distract you from everything.</p><p>“I did say the words ‘let’s go out’, right?” Oh, oops. You didn’t exactly hear those words in your frantic bid for a cover for the bourbon. “I know this place that has pretty tight security, and the staff knows not to leak anyone’s location.” You jump up and walk briskly past him.</p><p>“Well, what are you waiting for?” His laughter echoes behind you as you head for his cars.</p>
<hr/><p>Tony pulled to a stop in front of a homey looking cafe. You climb out of his Audi R8 and make your way into the cafe. Tony stays close the entire time, protectively so. The staff stare at you when you enter, obviously recognizing both you and Tony. Your face had been all over the news for a week now, all sorts of theories were being thrown out. And Tony was <i>The Tony Stark</i>, there was no way he wouldn’t be recognized. After they finished their ogling you were led to a booth in the back away from prying eyes, at Tony’s request of course. </p><p>You settle into the booth across from each other and are immediately greeted by a starry-eyed waitress. She zeroes in on Tony and smiles flirtatiously at him. “Hello Mr. Stark, what would you like?”</p><p>Tony smiles back just as flirtatiously, making you roll your eyes. “Depends on what you have to offer.” You barely hold back a snort as she blushes red. He sends a wink your way before addressing her again. “If it’s a good deal, I’ll have it to go. Some things are better eaten at home.”</p><p>You’re unable to curb your laughter as it explodes out of you. Tony just grins at the waitress as she stands there speechless and turning redder by the second. You decide to spare her, as you get out between your laughter “I’d like a cheeseburger with ketchup only, side of fries, and a sweet tea please.” </p><p>She snaps out of her stupor and hastily writes the order down, still completely red in the face. “Of course. And you Mr. Stark?”</p><p>“Same as her, except make the burger less boring. Scotch instead of sweet tea.”</p><p>She nods as she writes his order down. “Alright, I'll go put the order in. I’ll be right back with your drinks.” She rushes off.</p><p>You turn to a still grinning Tony. “That was pure gold. Her face was priceless! She turned as red as a baboon’s bottom in seconds.”</p><p>His grin widens. “I have that ability with women, sometimes men too. Genius, Billionaire, <i>Playboy</i>, Philanthropist. Remember?”</p><p>“How could I forget with a spectacle like that?” You laugh out. You look over as you see the waitress heading towards your table with both of your drinks and a basket of rolls balanced on a tray. Just as she gets to your table she trips, sending the drinks onto the table and into both of your laps. The rolls tumble to the floor. The last thing to fall is the tray, almost as if it was in slow motion. You watch it as it hits the ground with a <i>metallic clang</i>.</p><p>Nasir is in front of you again. Whip in hand. </p><p>“Earth to Ace.” Tony was looking at you with concern, waving his hand in front of your face. You jump a bit, making his brows furrow more. He was standing off to the side, probably from jumping up when the drinks hit him. You clear your throat and loosen your grip on the table, glad you hadn’t accidentally cracked it.</p><p>“Y-yeah, I’m fine. Just didn’t expect to be splashed with cold tea suddenly. Caught me off guard.” You even out your breathing after you speak. You couldn’t lose it, not in front of Tony. Not in public.</p><p>The waitress comes rushing back with towels, you gratefully take one from her and help her wipe the mess up after drying yourself off as much as possible. Tony’s eyes never leave you, even as he dries himself. He knows something is wrong with you. “We’ll take our food to go.”</p>
<hr/><p>The car is silent as you stack your boxes of food on the floor at your feet. Your appetite is gone, stomach churning at the thought of what happened in the restaurant. Tony pulls off once you’re settled. He drives for a few minutes before he speaks up. “What was that?” </p><p>“What was what?” You didn’t want to talk about it.</p><p>“Don’t play dumb, Ace. You know exactly what I’m talking about. This is the second time you’ve frozen up on me. What’s going on?” He looks at you intensely when he stops at a red light.</p><p>“Nothing. I told you I was just caught off guard by how cold it was.” Stop prying. <b>Please.</b></p><p>“That’s bullshit and we both know it. Now tell me what really happened.” He speeds off when the light turns green. You’re glad he can’t really look at you anymore.</p><p>“Nothing happened!” You snap harshly. He falls silent for the rest of the ride, clearly lost in thought. At least he wasn’t voicing those thoughts anymore.</p><p>He pulls into his garage, but before you can get out he grabs your arm to stop you. “Was it when the tray fell?” </p><p>You rip your arm from his grasp and open the door. “Fuck off, Tony. I’m fine. Stop looking for something that’s not there.” You spit out before slamming the door shut and stalking off, leaving him in a stunned silence in the car. You hear the door hastily open and close followed by quick steps before his hand is on your arm again. While usually his touch is welcoming and warm, it felt constricting and cold. You hated it.</p><p>“I’m not letting you run away this time. We’re talking about it. There’s something you’re not telling me. I need to know what it is so I can help you. <i><b>Please.</b></i>” He was almost begging you at this point. Going so far as to say please. It ebbed your anger a bit.</p><p>“Please stop touching me.” You say this quietly, not having enough energy to voice it any louder. You couldn’t handle being grabbed right now. His hand instantly disappears. He comes around to stand in front of you, looking at you so earnestly. His eyes showing that all he wants is to help you, not judge you. </p><p>“Talk to me, Ace.” He says it so gently, imploring you to open up to him.</p><p>You know you can trust him. He’ll help you, be there for you. He’s your best friend. “I-”</p><p>The door opening stops you in your tracks. You turn to see Obi standing there looking right at you. “I need to talk to you.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Wonder what Obi wants? </p><p>Also I literally laughed when Tony teased the waitress with that innuendo, cracked me up as I was writing it!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Obi comes to talk to Ace.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tony raises an eyebrow at Obi. “You haven’t seen her in three years and that’s the first thing you say?”</p>
<p>Obi smiles. “You’re right.” He turns to you. “It’s good to see you. I’m glad you’re ok. You had us worried for a bit there.”</p>
<p>“It’s good to see you too, Obi.” You and Obi had never really gotten along. You didn’t like how he manipulated Tony, and he didn’t like how you focused more on the medical side rather than weapons. Although, your attitude about that has changed a bit. Designing weapons to defeat those terrorists didn’t seem as bad anymore. The two of you had silently agreed to avoid the other as much as possible, but be cordial when you had to interact. You were never out right mean to each other, even shared a few hugs- although mainly for the public. </p>
<p>He moves to come give you a hug, but Tony intercepts him by slinging an arm over his shoulder. You send him a grateful smile as he leads Obi away. “Let’s head up to the living room and talk there. The atmosphere is much better.” </p>
<p>You follow the two of them up the steps and into the living room. Obi sits on one couch, Tony on the other. You, of course, take a spot next to Tony. Obi turns to Tony. “You don’t have to be here for this. If you’re busy you can go back to work. We’ll be fine on our own.” Basically, he wanted you alone. That didn’t bode well.</p>
<p>Thankfully, Tony didn’t seem keen on the idea of leaving. After glancing at you he settles further into the couch. “I’m not busy. I’m sure this is important since you came all the way here.”</p>
<p>Obi sighs before addressing you. “The board wants you to hold a press conference.”</p>
<p>You furrow your brows. You and Tony speak in unison. “Why?”</p>
<p>“They think it’ll be good for optics. Strong in the face of adversity and all that.” He waves his hand around nonchalantly. “They want to show that you’re not afraid to be back out there, and they want you to take your spot back at Stark Industries, get back to work.” </p>
<p>Before you could even reply Tony snaps out. “Not happening.”</p>
<p>“Actually-” You glance at Tony to get him to stay quiet and not interrupt you. “-I don’t want to go back to the medical division.” Both of their eyebrows shoot up.</p>
<p>“You mean you don’t want to go back to work yet?” Tony asks. “Because that’s completely reasonable.” Obi looks displeased at his words.</p>
<p>“No, no. I don’t want to head the medical division anymore.” You look at Tony. “I want to focus on weapons instead, like you.” If his eyebrows could raise any higher they’d disappear into his hairline. It was the first time you’d mentioned this to him, you’d never wanted to only build weapons before. You could see why it shocked him.</p>
<p>“That’s great! You’ve always had a knack for weapons. With both you and Tony, there won’t be anyone who could compete with us even 50 years from now.” Obi looks ecstatic that you want to make weapons. He claps his hands and rubs them together. “So, what about that press conference?”</p>
<p>“You know how I feel about press conferences. I’ve never been good with crowds and public speaking, now more than ever.” You feel a little embarrassed explaining this to him, even though you’re sure he knows. He just doesn’t care. Your shyness is another thing he dislikes about you. “Why not have Tony make a statement?”</p>
<p>“I can do that. I know how to work a room, make them eat from the palm of my hand. They’ll be singing her praises without her stepping a foot into the room.” Tony quickly jumps in. Ready to take over for you and protect you, even from your own shyness. </p>
<p>Obi runs a hand down his face before rubbing his beard a bit. “If that’s all I’ll get, I’ll take it. No funny business, we gotta milk this for all it’s worth.” It rubbed you wrong how he just wanted to use your kidnapping for press and a boost to the stocks. “I’ll have the press conference set up for tomorrow. I really am happy to see you alive and healthy, it’s good to have you back.” He stands and pats your shoulder before taking his leave.</p>
<p>Tony waits until the door shuts behind him before turning to you and asking. “You sure about this?” </p>
<p>“About what?” Focusing on weapons? Having him do the press conference? Getting back to work? You didn’t know what exactly he was referring to.</p>
<p>“All of it. You really want to be designing missiles instead of designing life-changing devices?” He asks seriously.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m sure. After what I saw, what I went through, I want those terrorists snuffed out. If building missiles is the way to do it, then I want to do it. I’ll still work medical on the side when I have the time. But I really want to focus in on weapons now.” You know he doesn’t know exactly what you went through, never will know the full extent of it, but he knows it was enough to change your views and maybe even your morals. So he does the only thing he knows to do, he supports you.</p>
<p>“Alright. Let’s blow up those bastards.”</p><hr/>
<p>You watch Tony as he tries to tie his tie, you huff a small laugh as you turn him around to you and do it yourself. You make a perfect knot and pat his chest before stepping back. He was getting ready to do the press conference, the one he offered to do so you didn’t have to. “Thank you for doing this.”</p>
<p>“You know I love the attention, couldn’t pass it up.” He grins at you. His way of saying <i>you’re welcome</i> without admitting he was doing it solely for you. “Should I take questions?”</p>
<p>You shrug, knowing he was asking permission to let any details out about your condition. “Nothing too personal. You can let them know the basics. I’m alive, healthy- at least now I am- and ready to get back to work.”</p>
<p>He nods and sticks his hands in his pockets, rocking forward a bit. “Got it. Nothing personal. I can do that.”</p>
<p>“I’m gonna be watching from here. I’ll personally come smack you in the back of the head if you mess up.” You point a finger at him playfully.</p>
<p>He gives a mock salute. “Yes ma’am.”</p>
<p>You laugh and gesture for him to leave. “Go, you’re already late.” He smiles at you before turning and walking through the doors into the fray of reporters. You turn to the little TV on the wall and watch as he makes his way to the stage. He taps the mic before speaking.</p>
<p>“This thing on? Yeah, great.” He flashes a winning smile to the reporters. “I’m very happy to say that-”</p>
<p>You’re startled by a throat clearing behind you. “Excuse me, Ms.-” You turn to see the suited man that you’d seen when you first woke up. Agent Coulson -from the Strategic Homeland Intervention something or another- if you recalled correctly. “-I believe we have some things to discuss.”</p>
<p>“Agent Coulson, right?” You extend your hand for him to shake. He nods and takes your hand in a firm grip and gives it a short shake before dropping it. “What would you like to discuss?”</p>
<p>“The circumstances behind your capture and how you escaped.” He states like it’s nothing serious, another daily thing for him. “I’d like to know what happened in the three years you were missing.”</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, that’s not something I want to talk about just yet.” It unnerved you a little to think that this man <i>just happened</i> to find and approach you the one time you’re outside of the house without Tony right next to you. “What agency do you work for again?”</p>
<p>“The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division.” He rattles off with a practiced ease to his words. How he could remember that was lost to you.  “I understand it may be difficult to talk about your time in captivity, but it is important we know the details behind what happened to you.” He seemed to elude to knowing something with his words, it unnerved you further. <i>Did he somehow know about the injections?</i> “How about we just put something in the books. Say about three months from now, 3pm on December 18th at Stark Industries work for you?”</p>
<p>“Uh, sure. That works.” Unsure as you say this.</p>
<p>“Great. Thank you for your time.” He walks away without another word. You watch him until he disappears out the door that leads to the room full of reporters. Not even 10 seconds later, Tony steps in through the same door.</p>
<p>“So, how’d I do? Perfect, right?” He grins at you before he studies your expression. His grin falls and is quickly replaced with concern.  “You alright?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m fine. I just had an impromptu visitor.” </p>
<p>“A visitor? Who?” He looks around as if he could see who had been there.</p>
<p>“An Agent Coulson from some government agency with a ridiculously long name. I met him when I first woke up after I was found.” Tony’s expression darkens a little. He clearly already knew who you were talking about.</p>
<p>“Suit guy? Rhodey told me about him. What does he want?”</p>
<p>“He wanted to know about what happened in Afghanistan. I told him I wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. Set a meeting in December to talk again.” He nods at your words. “How’d the press conference go? I didn’t get to watch it, I’ll have to watch it later.”</p>
<p>His grin reappears. “It went great. I had them eating out of my hand like I said I would. Stocks are already going up, and better yet, they’re hailing you as a hero. An inspiration to the people of America they’re calling you.”</p>
<p>“Tony! I didn’t want to be called a hero, all I did was not die.” You slap his shoulder for letting them call you that. They didn’t know anything about what happened, they didn’t know that you failed to protect someone. His face softens into a soft smile.</p>
<p>“You are a hero. You did more than just ‘not die’. You <i><b>survived.</b></i> For <i>Three Years</i>. You <i>escaped from terrorists</i> and lived to tell the tale. Don’t sell yourself short Ace.” He places his hand on the top of your head and rubs it affectionately. “I know you’re my hero for sure.”</p>
<p>His words strike a chord in you and you tear up. You tackle him in a hug, making him stumble back a step before his arms come around you. You bury your face in his chest as he holds you there, rubbing your hair with one hand soothingly. You whisper against his chest, voice conveying all the emotions rushing through you. <i><b>“Thank you.”</b></i> To which his arms tighten around you in response and a kiss is dropped onto your head.</p>
<p>“Don’t thank me. I’m just stating the truth.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thoughts about the situation with Coulson? Anyone curious as to what he knows, and what he doesn't?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chaper 19</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ace finally opens up a bit to Tony.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You were sitting in the living room watching some TV when Tony came up from his workshop later that night. He poured himself a scotch and sat on the other end of the couch. “JARVIS, do not disturb mode. No interruptions.” You raise an eyebrow at him as he turns to you. “It’s time to talk.” You sigh and go to get up but his voice firmly saying your name stops you. “I’m serious. You’re not getting out of it this time. What’s. Wrong.”</p><p>You stare each other down for a moment before you reply. “I’m-”  Not ok.  Tortured when you’re asleep. Can’t handle something as simple as metal banging around a bit. The cause of someone’s death. “I’m fine.” </p><p>He stares into your eyes for a long time, trying to get a read on you. Trying to figure out what’s making you hold things back from him. He slides closer on the couch and grabs your hand. You try to pull it away but his grip tightens. “I know you’re not fine. I know you haven’t been properly sleeping. I saw how you reacted when that tray hit the floor, when DUM-E dropped those tools.  I know you’re not ok. Just tell me what happened so I can help you. <i>You don’t have to hide from me.</i>”</p><p>He hits the nail on the head, like always. He can tell that you got used to hiding everything. Got used to locking any negative emotion inside of you. Even when you try to lock everything down, you’re still an open book to him. You really can’t hide from him, so… “I was tortured- whipped and beaten.” His eyes widen at the bomb you drop on him, his grip tightens on your hand almost painfully. “There was this door that led to where I was being held, it always made this metal clang whenever it was opened. It became a signal to me that something bad was coming. Pain always followed that sound.”</p><p>He says your name so softly, pain in his voice. In pain because of what you went through. “I’m so sorry… is that why you froze up when…?” He trails off, knowing you knew what he was asking.</p><p>“Yeah. It was like I was back in that cave, back in the cell with Nasir standing over me with his whip.” you say quietly. It felt so exposing to be letting Tony know about what happened. You couldn’t tell him about the injections, or your strength, yet. You had no idea how he’d react. But this was a start. It actually felt really good to get it off your chest.</p><p>“Is Nasir the one who- uh-  tortured you?” Unbridled rage fills his eyes as he asks this. He was ready to murder.</p><p>You nod. “I killed him.” The memory of you ending his life with your bare hands flashes through your mind. The fear that filled Nasir’s eyes just before...</p><p>
  <i>You lean into his ear and whisper “I’ll see you in <b>Hell</b>” before you crush his windpipe and let his body fall into a heap on the ground. </i>
</p><p>You snap back to the present as his eyes widen again from the second bomb you dropped on him. The rage from before fades a little, but not completely. “Good. The bastard deserves to rot for what he did to you.” He softens as he looks at you. “I’m sorry you had to go through that alone. I wish I was there.” <i>Alone</i>. The word stands out to you. He thought you went through everything alone.</p><p>“I wasn’t alone.” His eyes widen for the third time in a short span of time. It was rare that you got to surprise him so much, it just sucks that it was about this instead of something… happier. “I was for the first year or so, but after that a family was brought in.” You couldn’t tell him they were brought in because you decided to die. You smile a bit as you think about them. “It was a boy, Malik is his name, and his parents, Amir and Fatima. They’re the only reason I’m alive.”</p><p>“What happened to them?” He asked this hesitantly. He knew you were found alone, no one else in sight. He was afraid of what the answer was going to be. Your smile fades instantly.</p><p>“I was able to get Malik and Amir out. They escaped with a jeep while I distracted the terrorists... Fatima didn’t make it. She died protecting me.” You swallow your tears as you remember her last words to you. <i><b>Stay Strong.</b></i> You speak even quieter. “I promised them I’d get all of us out… I failed.”</p><p>Tony’s hands find their way to your face, cupping your cheeks. He brings your face up to level with his gaze. Using his eyes to show the sincerity of his next statement. “It’s not your fault she’s dead. You saved her family.”</p><p>The tears start to fall. “I couldn’t save her.” He pulls you in for a hug, wrapping his arms tightly around you as your face buries into the crook of his neck. The two of you stay like that until you cry yourself to sleep in his arms, completely spent from all of the emotions running rampant. You wake a bit when he picks you up and carries you to your room, but when he goes to leave you hold on to him. Not wanting to be alone. Needing someone- <i>him</i>- to be there with you. He chuckles a bit as he climbs into bed beside you and holds you close as you drift back off to sleep.</p>
<hr/><p>Malik is being dragged along behind Nasir, screaming for you to save him. “Miss Ace! Help me! <i>Please!</i>” Nasir spins around to face him and promptly backhands him. You’re unable to do anything as you watch the scene play out, laying paralyzed on the ground. Trying with all your might to even get a finger to move. </p><p>Suddenly the scene changes, you’re now in the lab with Omar- the doctor. You’re sitting tied in a chair with your head hanging limply, forced to listen to the sounds of Malik struggling to get free from where he lays on the table. Someone grabs your head and pulls it up to make you watch as Omar readies a syringe to inject Malik with the formula. You try once again with all of your might to move as the syringe is plunged into his neck. His screams of agony fill your ears. </p><p>You’re spun around by the person holding your head up. You’re met by the decaying face of Fatima. Her eyes are dead and empty as she stares into your own. <i>“You couldn’t save me. Now you can’t save him. Why are you so weak?”</i></p><p>You shoot up, awake. In a panic you swing your arms out instinctually and hit something hovering above you with a thud. Whatever you hit groans in pain as its flung from the bed and onto the floor with another- louder- thud. When you hear a wheezing breath off the side of the bed you look over the edge to see Tony laying there, attempting to catch his breath. Once he’s able to breathe again he sits up from the floor holding his nose. His voice is muffled behind his hand when he speaks. “Jesus, Ace. You have one hell of a mean swing.”</p><p>His pain filled voice snaps you out of your previous frozen panic and throws you into a different one. “Tony! I’m so sorry!” You fling yourself from the bed and over to his side. “JARVIS, turn the lights on.” The lights turn on and you bend down to look at Tony’s nose. You can see the blood dripping down his hand from where he’s holding it.  “Are you ok?” Stupid question, considering the blood.</p><p>He waves you off as he goes to stand, a little unsteady. You reach out and help steady him. “I’m fine.”</p><p>“You’re not fine. Come on, let me look at your nose.” It was probably broken, with the amount of blood. You must have hit his head pretty hard, he stumbles on the way to the bathroom as you help walk him there. It makes you feel absolutely <i>awful</i>. </p><p>He hops onto the counter by the sink and pulls his shirt off to avoid getting any blood on it. You’re able to see bruises already forming on his back. He must have hit the ground <b>hard</b>. That explains his initial trouble breathing, you knocked the air out of him. You grab a washcloth and start to gently dab at the blood coming from his nose. You needed to get it clean enough so you could see the damage. You keep one hand on the side of his head to keep him still as you clean the area carefully. His hands come up and wrap around your wrists, stilling your motion. You look into his eyes when he bends his head to catch your gaze.  “Are you ok?”</p><p>Your brows furrow in confusion. “You’re sitting here bruised and bloodied, yet you’re asking if <i>I’m</i> ok?”</p><p>“I wasn’t the one having a nightmare bad enough to fling you across the room when you woke me up.” He had a point, but still. You’d rather focus on him right now. The nightmare was a faraway thought now that he was the center of your focus.</p><p>“Let’s just get you fixed up.” Not giving him time to argue you shake his hands off and put the washcloth down. You look at his now visible nose and cringe a bit. Definitely broken. “I’m gonna have to set your nose.”</p><p>He offers a grin despite the situation. “Make me beautiful again, doc.” Trusting you 100% to fix his nose. No doubt in mind. He knew you were qualified for it. It made you smile back at him. You place your hands on either side of his nose.</p><p>“Alright, beautiful. On three. One… Two…” You snap his nose into place. “Three.” You pat his shoulder comfortingly before grabbing a nasal splint from the first aid kit and putting it over his nose. ”Keep ice on it, otherwise it’ll swell.”</p><p>He nods as he slides his shirt back on, now blood free. He goes to stand back up, this time a lot more steady. He looks at you and studies you, eyes traveling your body. “When did you start working out?”</p><p>“I work out a little every now and then. It feels good to keep myself active after everything.” You lie to him. It felt terrible to do so, but he couldn’t know about the injections. You didn’t know how he’d react to you suddenly having super strength.</p><p>“That felt like more than a little. You knocked the air out of me and broke my nose, Ace.” He states matter of factly as he eyes you suspiciously. He knows there’s something else going on, so you play into that a little. </p><p>“You scared me when you woke me up. I practically strained my muscles hitting you off of me. I’m gonna be feeling them in the morning.” Another lie, but also a little of the truth. More believable. “I was having a nightmare, didn’t expect to wake up to someone hovering above me like that.”</p><p>“You wanna talk about it?” He asks you softly. You were grateful for the subject change, but you didn’t really want to go down that direction either.</p><p>“Not Tonight. Let’s go get some ice for your nose. I’ll put some coffee on too.” You turn and exit the bathroom. He follows you silently. You make your way down to the kitchen and put some coffee on. You then head to the fridge with a sandwich bag and fill it with some ice. You wrap it with a paper towel as you make your way towards where he sat himself at the counter. </p><p>He looks at you amused. “You know I have actual ice packs, right?” Referring to the bag and paper towel combo.</p><p>“Shush. We were raised differently, this was the first thing to come to mind.” You gently press the ice onto his nose. “Hold it there like that and don’t complain.”</p><p>He laughs and holds the ice to his nose. You spend the rest of the night teasing each other, enjoying your time together despite what brought you here.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This was a bit heavier of a chapter. Tony got tired of Ace dodging him, he put an end to it. Now maybe he should dodge her instead, she packs quite a punch lol</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Chapter 20</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tony throws Ace a birthday party.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Your birthday came quickly, and despite your objections, Tony planned a party. You wanted something simple, but in his words it had to be <i>“extra glamorous because you didn’t die.”</i> That was how you found yourself in your current situation, being fitted in a dress hours before said party started. You had turned down three dresses for being backless, another two for being too puffy, before finding the one you wanted to wear. You looked at yourself in the mirror as the seamstress moved around the dress making adjustments. It was a short sleeve, emerald green dress that landed at your ankles. You paired gold heels to go with your golden anklet that tony had given you. You never take it off.</p>
<p>The door to the room opens with a light knock and a voice calls out “Ace, are you decent? I don’t feel like being punched right now.” </p>
<p>You huff out a laugh. You had punched Tony before when he entered without knocking one time. He had gotten a full view of your naked body and decided to make some comments, it didn’t end well for him. That was so long ago now. “I’m dressed, Tony. You’re good to come in.”</p>
<p>He enters the room wearing a nicely tailored black tux. You take a second to admire him. His hair is styled neatly, goatee trimmed to perfection, and his signature smirk is plastered on his lips. You couldn’t even tell that his nose had been broken three months ago. He fiddles with the collar of his crisp white shirt. “I came to see what color tie I have to wear. Emerald it is.”</p>
<p>“You’re gonna match me?” Shocked at this. He rarely matched with you, usually only at Stark Industries specific events. Any other time he just wore whatever he wanted to.</p>
<p>“I’m your date for the night, of course I am.” He twirls his gold cufflinks.</p>
<p>“Date, huh? First I’ve heard of this. I thought you were just the party planner.” Raising an eyebrow at him, a look which he returns. </p>
<p>“Party planner, date. What’s the difference?” He waves his hand dismissively. This was nothing new, you had been each other's ‘date’ to plenty of parties. The seamstress hands Tony a matching tie and he begins putting it on. You step down from the stand you were on and approach him, swatting his hands away as you take the tie in your hands. You tie it in a perfect knot and tighten it up. “I could have done that.”</p>
<p>“I know. Just wanted to help my date out.” You say playfully as you smooth his tie down and step away. He looks down at your dress appreciatively.</p>
<p>“You clean up nicely.” You roll your eyes at his ‘compliment’.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I don’t look nearly as homeless as I did before.” You would be the first to admit that you’d just been hanging around the mansion in pajamas for the longest. You know you resembled a squatter a lot of the time. “You look great, Tony.”</p>
<p>He gives you a smug smile. “When don’t I?”</p>
<p>“When you forget to shower for a few days.” You give him a very dry look.</p>
<p>“I’ll give you that one.” He laughs joyously then holds his arm out. “Shall we?”</p>
<p>“We shall.” You put your hand in the crook of his arm and he leads you to the car Happy has waiting for the two of you. Happy holds the door open for you as you get in, followed by Tony.</p><hr/>
<p>As you near the venue Tony rented for your party, your nerves grow. This was the first public appearance you’d be making since you got back. Other than a few blurry pictures from discreet lunches out with Tony, no one had really seen you since before you were kidnapped. You were about to be thrown into a horde of reporters all asking questions that you either wouldn’t have answers to or would be too hard to answer. You swallow down your nervousness as Happy pulls to a stop at the end of a red carpet- because of course Tony would turn your birthday party into a red carpet event. Tony turns to look at you as Happy steps out. “You ready?”</p>
<p>“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Meaning not ready at all. Not one bit. He reaches out to grab your hand, he gives it a squeeze.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry, you’ll do great. I’ll be there the whole time.” His words send a blanket of comfort over you as you squeeze his hand back before releasing it when Happy opens the door. Tony slides out and waves to the crowd gathered before turning back to the car. He offers you his hand and helps you out. The flashing lights from hundreds of cameras going off nearly blinds you. The sound of the many shouts of your name threatens to overwhelm you. Happy gives a comforting pat to your shoulder and a smile before he gets back in the car. </p>
<p>Tony slips his arm around your waist and pulls you to him as he begins the trek to the doors. Reporters push against the security guards to try to get to you. One manages to catch your attention when he screams your name louder than the rest. You turn to him as he holds a microphone directly into your face. You lean back a bit as he practically yells. “What do you think of the rumors that the terrorists converted you to their extremist beliefs and sent you back here as a spy?” </p>
<p>You’d never felt so disgusted by someone. This man was using your kidnapping as a foundation for ridiculous conspiracy theories. To even insinuate that you’d ever align yourself with those evil bastards sent a fire burning through your veins. Tony’s arm tightens around your waist as he goes to pull you away, but you stop him. You turn to the reporter and spit out. “I just spent three years being <i>tortured</i> by terrorists and <b>that</b> is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard. Think about that.”</p>
<p>You turn abruptly with Tony, ignoring the rest of the reporters as you finally head inside. The lobby is empty as you enter, acting as a wall of solace between both the reporters and the party ahead. Tony releases his grip on your waist and turns to you with a brow raised. “You know you just confirmed to millions of people you were tortured, right? By the way, amazing soundbite. They’ll be playing that on repeat for a month.” Joking. Trying to ease the severity of the situation. </p>
<p>You offer him a tired smile. You were already done with the night. “Yeah… Let’s just go into the party now.” The sooner you go in, the sooner you can leave. He nods and offers his arm. You take it and stride through the doors that once separated the lobby from the noise within. You somehow enter unnoticed, not a single head turning to see who was joining the party. Tony immediately leads you towards the stage. He climbs the steps onto it, dragging you along. He leans into the mic as the room starts to quiet down.</p>
<p>“Hey, hey. All eyes on me.” All eyes turn to him on command, some people just noticing he was up there. “That’s right. Hello there.” He sends a wink towards a woman in the front. Looking out into the crowd again. “As much as I love the attention, tonight isn’t about me. It’s about this incredible woman right here.” He gestures towards you and says more seriously. “We haven’t been able to celebrate her birthday with her for the last three years. Let’s make it a hell of a good one.” Short yet sweet, as expected of Tony once he gets through the crowd pleasing.</p>
<p>After his little ‘let the party officially begin now’ speech you began making your rounds through the room. You rubbed elbows with people you barely remembered who all offered their <i>sincere regrets and condolences</i> about what happened. Many uncomfortable fake hugs and obligatory handshakes later you slip away from Tony's side and head to the bar. You needed a break from all of the touching. </p>
<p>You lean against the bar sipping a water while hiding from the crowd. It was nice to have a break from being the center of attention. All of the too personal questions, the staring at the scar on your eye, and groping hands was getting to you. Tony could only act as a buffer so much, could only redirect conversation so much. Despite this, Tony had outdone himself. The party was amazing, the ballroom decorated beautifully. There were gold and black streamers everywhere, black shimmering curtains with gold accents hanging from the windows, golden tablecloths draped over every table, and a giant crystal chandelier in the center over the dance floor. The music he chose was string covers of ACDC and Black Sabbath, both of your favorite bands. It was very elegant and glamorous but still you- exactly what Tony wanted.</p>
<p>You’re interrupted from your admiring of the room by the bartender placing a glass of some fruity mixture in front of you. “I’m sorry, I didn’t order this.”</p>
<p>“Someone bought it for you.” You scrunch your nose at the news. Not only could you not drink it, but having some random person buying you drinks was not what you wanted.</p>
<p>“Can you just toss it out please?” You slide the glass back towards the bartender as he nods and goes to take it back. A hand stops him in his tracks.</p>
<p>“You know, it’s kind of rude to not drink what someone buys you. Wasteful too.” At the sound of the voice coming from your right, you close your eyes and puff out a breath of annoyance. You plaster on a smile and turn to the culprit.</p>
<p>“Hello Justin.” Justin Hammer standing in front of you in the flesh. Every square inch of his annoying flesh. How he got in, you had no idea. No way did Tony invite him. He sidles up to the bar, too close beside you.</p>
<p>“It’s good to see you back from your little extended vacation.” He places his arm around your waist casually. You shrug him off and take a step away.</p>
<p>“What do you want?”</p>
<p>“I just wanted to come say hi to a friend I haven’t seen in a while. Maybe hear about what you have in the works.” Ah, he wanted to know what Stark Industries was up to. That explains why he came to talk to you.</p>
<p>“I haven’t been up to much, mainly catching up on the stuff I missed.” Lying so easily to him. You’d actually already caught up and had started working with Tony on new missile designs. You avoided the garage, leaving Tony to do the actual building. You didn’t want to be around when he was banging on metal, he understood. Justin didn’t need to know that though. The less he thinks you know, the sooner he will leave you alone. </p>
<p>He leans in closer again, lowering his voice suggestively. “I can catch you up on all the nights of fun you missed out on.” Moving on from Stark Industries, sadly onto talking about <i>you</i>. It was an unwelcome change. You feel like throwing up at what he was insinuating. It was repulsing. He drags the glass of fruity drink towards you. “Here, have a drink. Loosen up a bit.”</p>
<p>You take a step away yet again. You keep your tone as flat as you can while you push the drink away again. Trying to remain as polite as possible, a scene was not what you needed right now. “No thanks.”</p>
<p>He puts his hand on your lower back, trying to pull you closer to him again. “Oh come on, sweetheart. I’m qualified for the job. More qualified than Anthony, that’s for sure.”</p>
<p>“I heard my name. What are we talking about?” Tony’s voice is like a saving grace, even more so when he physically breaks Justin’s hold on you and stands between you. He turns his back on you to fully face Justin, acting as an impenetrable wall.</p>
<p>“Ah, Anthony! It’s good to see you. I was just asking scarface here where you were.” You bristle slightly at the ‘nickname’ he drops, Tony more so. You can see his jaw clench as he takes a menacing step towards Justin. You can tell he’s about to make a scene, unintentionally of course, so you grab the back of his jacket and pull slightly. He turns to look at you, anger softening some.</p>
<p>“Let’s go dance, Tony.” You send a soft smile his way, hoping to convey <i>don’t make a scene, please</i> without saying as much. He seems to get the hint. He gives a curt nod and offers his hand. Without turning to acknowledge Justin the two of you walk away. Once you reach the dancefloor he pulls you close, keeping one hand firmly on your hip and the other in your hand. </p>
<p>“I really hate him.”</p>
<p>You snort. “Me too. Thanks for the save.”</p>
<p>“Just doing my duty as your date, keeping other men away from you.” He sends you a cheeky grin.</p>
<p>“My hero.” You roll your eyes with a huff of laughter. He pulls you closer, to the point you were just leaning on him. You rest your head on his shoulder as his arms come around your waist and your hands go to his chest. The rest of the night flies by as you dance and laugh with Tony, at peace with your best friend. Overall, it was a pretty good birthday.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Mostly just a filler chapter, while also using it as an opportunity to establish a little background to Justin Hammer and Ace's relationship before Iron Man stuff starts. Basically, he likes her. She hates him.</p>
<p>It's also to jump the time forward a bit. Oct 17 is Ace's birthday, so a its little over 2 months before her meeting with Coulson now! There's only one major thing that needs to happen between now and her meeting, answers will be coming soooon.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Chapter 21</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>An incident in the garage reveals something about Ace...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Your life was slowly getting back to normal- you were going back to the office, attending meetings in place of Tony when he was busy, going out occasionally without him, becoming an expert in dodging the media, and overall just doing good. You had even opted to just ignore the fact you had super-strength, only ever acknowledging it when you needed to lift something heavy. You had tried to keep researching it up until a couple weeks after your birthday, but had come up with nothing. It was almost as if nothing was different about you. Nothing showed in your blood, DNA samples, or even pee samples. So, you abandoned the research. </p><p>The nightmares were still a consistent problem. The lack of sleep you were getting showed on your face most days, bags deep beneath your eyes. Tony had shown his worry more than once, even tried to get you to sleep with him so he could help you with them, but you refused. You couldn’t risk hurting him worse than just a broken nose and some bruises. Especially after nights like tonight, when you wake up in a panic swinging your fists around.</p><p>You were sitting in the garage with Tony while he worked on his 1967 Shelby Cobra. You had sought him out for comfort after the nightmare, glad that he wasn’t asleep yet. You kind of expected him to be after all the turkey he ate earlier. He, you, and Pepper had eaten a nice Thanksgiving meal with a giant turkey- at your request. You never really did stuff for the holidays before you were kidnapped, but now it felt nice to do something meaningful. He didn’t argue, probably feeling the same way.</p><p>He didn’t comment when you sleepily appeared down here, leaving you be as you watched him work silently. He had the car up on a jack, laying on a creeper as he messed with something underneath. You didn’t know what exactly he was doing, having come down well after he started. His voice startles you a little. “Hand me the pliers.”</p><p>You get up off the stool you had commandeered and grab the pliers, putting them into the hand he stuck out from underneath the car. You eye the jack the car is up on. “Is that jack gonna hold up?” It looked to be bending, making you unsure of its structural integrity. It could've just been the angle you were at though.</p><p>“It's one of my old ones, I had to dig it out when I couldn’t find my new one. Didn’t want to wait for one to be delivered. It hasn’t failed on me yet. Should be fine.” Not really a comforting response. “What are you doing up?”</p><p>“Couldn’t sleep.”</p><p>“I kind of got that.” He says sarcastically. “Is it because of your nightmares? Are they back?” you had told him they eased a while ago, just to keep him from worrying so much.</p><p>“Ma’am has been having nightly nightmares since she first arrived home.” JARVIS’ voice chimes in from above.</p><p>“JARVIS, you’re such a snitch.” You huff, crossing your arms indignantly. </p><p>“My apologies Ma’am. I was not aware we were keeping it a secret.” </p><p>“Oooh, secrets? I like secrets. JARVIS, what else is she trying to hide from me?” You hear Tony’s voice come from underneath the car. He just skirted over the fact that you lied to him, jumping straight to what else. You hold your breath waiting for JARVIS’ answer.</p><p>“Nothing that I am aware of, Sir.” You let out a breath of relief. He wasn’t going to spill the beans about all of your self-testing and strength. That was not something you wanted to have a discussion about.</p><p>“I feel like you’re just saying that because you like her more.” Tony says in mock annoyance. </p><p>“She doesn’t threaten to reprogram me.” He retorts. It brings a smile to your face. It was as much confirmation, that he indeed did like you more, as you’d get.</p><p>“Don’t worry J, I like you more than him too.” You say with a little laugh. Not being completely serious about this. You don’t think you’d ever like anyone- even a program- more than Tony. There was a reason you’d been best friends since you were teenagers.</p><p>“Hey! I resent that.” Tony says indignantly, but you can hear the grin on his face. “If you two are done teaming up against me, hand me the socket wrench.”</p><p>You laugh as you grab the socket wrench, but as you go to hand it to him there’s a loud <i><b>snap.</b></i> You barely have time to react as the car begins falling, on a path to crush him beneath its weight. A surge of adrenaline flows through you as you drop the socket wrench and catch the car by its bumper before it lands on Tony. Tony, having launched himself out from underneath using the creeper when the car started falling, looked up to see you holding the car with ease.  You hurriedly drop the car, but it’s too late. The damage is done.</p><p>“What the fuck?!” He’s staring at you in disbelief, sitting up on his creeper. Yelling incredulously. “Did you just <i>catch a fucking car?!</i>” </p><p>“...Maybe.” Voice quiet, broken. This is what you were scared about. You didn’t want him to find out, especially like this. He stares at you taking in your scared and wary appearance, face softening and entire demeanor relaxing. When he speaks again, it’s softer like he’s afraid to scare you off.</p><p>“Ace… <i>how</i> in the hell did you do that?” Still not quite believing what he saw- his best friend holding an entire car in the air. You wouldn’t think it was possible either.</p><p>“It’s a long story.” Offering him a weary smile. He sighs and drops the pliers he was still holding onto the ground.</p><p>“I’ve got time.”</p>
<hr/><p>Tony sat silently as you told him <i>everything.</i> You told him about the doctor. The injections. The excruciating pain each one gave you. The discovery of alcohol as a paralyzing agent. The discovery of your strength. Your escape. Crushing Nasir’s windpipe in your hand. Smashing skulls into the walls. How you discovered adrenaline acted as a booster. How you gave up and resigned yourself to dying. How you blame yourself for Fatima, Amir, and Malik being captured. The nightmares- what you saw every single night. The fear of hurting him because of them. About your insecurity about your back. About Agent Coulson and your uneasiness about him. Once you began talking you couldn’t stop. Everything poured out of you, desperate for release and in no particular order. Every single secret you held was spilled.</p><p>When you finally finish dumping everything Tony sits silently for a few moments, letting it absorb. You wait anxiously for his reaction to it all. “Ok… so to recap… Super strength, adrenaline boosts you,-” Listing everything off on his fingers. “-booze paralyzes you, and you blame yourself for things you shouldn’t.” He looks at you with a small teasing grin. “So much for not hiding anything else from me.”</p><p>You feel your entire body relax at the sight of his grin, exhausted suddenly. “You’re just… ok with all this? Ok with me having super strength? Ok that I <i>lied</i> to you, multiple times?” Not understanding his calm reaction. Almost wanting him to react more. He shrugs.</p><p>“I understand why you didn’t want to tell me. It’s kind of a big deal having super strength all of the sudden.” He reaches over and grabs your hand. “As for being <i>ok</i> with everything… I’m not. Kind of freaking out on the inside.” He grins at you again. It eases your doubt. “But, it’s not the most shocking thing in the world. My dad did have a hand in creating Captain America after all. I’m mainly just concerned about you.” </p><p>You forgot about the whole Captain America thing. Maybe you should have told him sooner, especially since he was taking it so well. Wait- “Concerned about me?” After all of that, he was concerned about you? Not about the fact that you hid things from him. Not that you lied. Not even that you had super strength.</p><p>“Well, you did just dump at least three suitcases full of emotional baggage on me.” He teases, it urges a small smile from you. “And who knows what they were pumping into you. What if there are complications down the road? We should start running tests, try to determine what it is.”</p><p>Your smile turns more genuine then. Of course he’d think about that. You hadn’t even thought about what it might cause in the future. You could be slowly dying for all you knew. “I already tried testing everything I could think of. Nothing shows up anywhere.” </p><p>“Well, you didn’t have me helping before. I am a genius you know.” He falls silent for a moment lost in thought. His face lights up- the expression he has when he has an idea that excites him. “I have an idea!”</p><p>“What?” Curious and a little scared to hear the idea. His ideas were either really good or really bad. No in between.</p><p>“We need to test the limits of your power. Obviously from the way you caught the car like it was a balloon you’re incredibly strong. I wanna see just how strong you really are.” He says this all with a child-like excitement. </p><p>“I don’t know Tony…” The thought kind of terrified you. Do you really want to know how much power your body holds? The amount of damage you could do?</p><p>“Come on!” Basically whining this out. “Purely for scientific purposes. We need to know how much your body can take.” He had a point. It could be dangerous to not know how much it could take. You could find yourself in a situation that ends in disaster if you overestimate your abilities. But you also knew he wanted to know for his own fascination.</p><p>“Fine, we can do some testing.” He fist pumps the air, his excitement infecting you. You laugh and smile shaking your head. “You’re such a child.”</p><p>“A very handsome child.” He winks at you. Then just a touch more serious. “Next item on the to do list: all that emotional baggage.” Just like that the joking mood is gone. Replaced with an air of sadness. “You can’t blame yourself for things you couldn’t control.”</p><p>“If I hadn’t given up, they wouldn’t have been dragged in there. Fatima wouldn’t have had to protect me.” Adamant about this. If you had been stronger...</p><p>“Do you <i>really</i> believe that?” He looked hard at you. “The way you make things sound, they would have been dragged in there eventually. No matter if you gave up or not. Those people are evil, you can’t blame yourself for their choices. They brought them in, not you.” He stares into your eyes to show you the utter truth behind his words. You nod and go to speak but he cuts you off. “I’m not done. You blame yourself for Fatima dying. But she was doing the same thing you were.” He pauses for emphasis. “<i><b>Protecting her family.</b></i>”</p><p>Tears fill your eyes as the words sink in. She didn’t die so <i>you</i> could save her family. She died so <i>she</i> could. You were both willing to die for her family. To her you were part of that family. Somehow this eased the immense guilt you felt. You had thought you failed her family, but you were her family too. Malik and Amir weren’t the only ones who lost a family member that day. How Tony always knew exactly what to say you’ll never know.</p><p>“Thank you.” Your voice came out weak and watery. The emotion of the moment getting to you a bit. He pulls you into a hug. He holds you tightly as you lapse into a comfortable silence, the lingering emotions needing no more words. </p><p>“You have that meeting with suit guy in a few weeks, right?” Wondering why he was bringing that up now, you nod into his chest. </p><p>“Yeah, it’s on the 18th.”</p><p>“I want to come with you for it.”</p><p>You pull back and look at him confused. “Why do you want to be there for it?”</p><p>“I don’t trust secret agent types. I don’t want you to be taken and turned into a weapon for the government.” He was worrying about you being taken advantage of. Maybe even worried you’d be carted off to a secret lab somewhere. “You already said he knew to find you when I wasn’t there. I don’t want that to be handed to him on a silver platter.”</p><p>You snuggle into him even more, burying your face into the crook of his neck. “You can come. It would be easier with you there anyways.” No matter what it was going to be hard to talk about anything that happened to you. Tony was one thing- a complete stranger another. He drops a kiss onto the top of your head.</p><p>“Good.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I knew tony had to find out about the super strength before the meeting with Coulson, so here we are. What better way to do it than Ace catching a car like it's a ball of cotton candy?</p><p>Let me know what you think about the conversation they had about everything, I had some trouble writing it. Feedback would be great!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Chapter 22</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It's finally time for the meeting with Coulson.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Very quickly it was the day of your meeting with Agent Coulson. The last few weeks your free time had been filled with you and Tony designing sensors to detect your PSI- then redesigning them when you simply crushed the sensors. You had yet to be able to properly put a number to your strength, it was <i>literally</i> off the charts. At least after nightmares it was. Without the added boost of adrenaline, you weren’t quite as powerful. You could still lift cars fairly easily, but not much more than that. You had also drawn more blood for Tony to start studying, but he had come up empty as well. It was very perplexing. All of the testing didn’t help your nerves about the meeting today. You found yourself increasingly grateful that Tony was coming with you by the second.  His strong and confident presence always manages to put you at ease. </p>
<p>A hand suddenly lands on your shoulder. You startle and spin around bringing your fist up to strike. Tony manages to duck at the last second with a little surprised yelp. “<i>Hey!</i> Watch where you swing that! I happen to like my face the way it is.”</p>
<p>“Jesus, Tony! You can’t scare me like that.” You place your hand over your pounding heart and take some calming breaths. You hate how jumpy you get when you’re nervous. Tony should have known not to sneak up on you by now though, especially with the damage you could do to a person.</p>
<p>“I said your name like 10 times. Not my fault you decided to be deaf.” Had you really been that out of it? He studies your face, obviously looking for some reason you’d be zoning out like that. You were hoping you had masked your nervousness enough. “You ok?” Well, so much for that. You were off your game today.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m just a little nervous about the meeting today… I’m still not good at talking about what happened.” After your big information dump on him, you had only spoken about it a handful of times. You avoided talking about the <i>darker</i> aspects of your time in Afghanistan as much as you could. It wasn’t pleasant delving into painful memories and emotions. The only times it came up was when JARVIS would alert Tony of a particularly bad nightmare. Tony had set that up after you told him everything, especially since you wouldn’t let him even sleep in the room with you.</p>
<p>“You’ll do great. If you want I can do most of the talking for you, I’ve been told I do that very well.” While that would be great, getting off the hook for reliving horrible memories, you knew this was something you had to do. </p>
<p>You shake your head. “I need to do it myself. Thank you though.” </p>
<p>“Sir, ma’am, Mr. Hogan has arrived to escort you to the office.” JARVIS’ voice travels through the room.</p>
<p>Tony checks his watch. “He’s a little early.”</p>
<p>You shrug. “It’s probably a good idea to get there well before Agent Coulson does anyways.” A little extra time to get settled before the meeting would do you some good. Tony nods and makes a dramatic gesture for you to walk ahead of him. You let out a little giggle, making him smile. You felt better already.</p><hr/>
<p>Scratch that. You definitely did not feel better. As Agent Coulson entered the conference room you were internally screaming. It was hard to remain still, always wanting to fiddle with something or just bolt from the room.  He sat down across from you, seemingly unsurprised about Tony’s presence. “Thank you for seeing me.”</p>
<p>“What exactly do you want to talk about?” Cutting right to the chase. Beating around the bush wouldn’t ease your nerves, you just wanted to get this over with. Tony, shockingly, remains a silent sturdy presence beside you; Leg touching yours beneath the table almost like an anchoring point. </p>
<p>“There are reports of an individual cell in the terrorist organization known as the Ten Rings that indicate they are attempting to recreate a version of the super soldier serum Captain Steve Rogers was given in the 1940s. We believe you were held captive by that cell. It is extremely imperative that we-” <i><b>Ten Rings,</b></i> is that the name of the group you were held by? In your three years, you had never heard anyone refer to the group as a whole. Hell, you only knew a couple names- one you didn’t find out until the day you escaped. Any information about the group was kept out of your reach.</p>
<p>And the super soldier serum? You knew a little about it because of Tony- well his father’s notes. Is that what they were injecting into you? A different version of it- one that didn’t require vita radiation like the original? Your body hadn’t changed as drastically as Captain America’s had, maybe that was because of the lack of vita radiation? You obviously still got the strength enhancing portion of it, maybe even more so than Captain America had. Your eyesight and hearing may have been better than you remember it being before too, now that you think about it. You definitely didn’t get the enhanced healing, sadly. That would have been really helpful.</p>
<p>You realized you had drifted off into your thoughts when Coulson said your name. “-I hope you understand that I need any information you could give me. Did you hear or <i>experience</i> anything while being held captive that could be helpful?” It was phrased like a question, but posed in a way that indicated he knew more than he was letting on. Like he somehow already knew what happened, knew that you had been injected with an altered version of the serum. </p>
<p>You glance at Tony who shakes his head subtly. Good, you were in agreement. No letting super secret government agents know you had been a terrorist’s guinea pig. You shake your head. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t even know the name of the group responsible until a few seconds ago. They kept any information under wraps.”</p>
<p>He nods as you speak. Then  “What did you personally go through while you were held?” He was beginning to dig.</p>
<p>“I was their plaything. They tortured me whenever they were bored.” You tried to play off the tenseness of your entire body when saying the words, tried to make it come out humorous. You failed at both spectacularly. Tony put his hand over yours underneath the table and gave it a comforting squeeze. He still remained silent, respecting your wish to do this yourself. </p>
<p>“How exactly did they torture you?” Coulson leans forward studying your face. He held an expression you didn’t like. Doubtful and accusing. It was clear to him you were holding back.</p>
<p>“I was whipped- a lot- and beaten black and blue.” Your anger was beginning to rise, hating having to disclose this to a stranger. Especially one that was digging for information that you for sure didn’t want to share. His whole demeanor softens clearly sensing your rising anger. No longer coming across as accusing, now more understanding.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry you had to go through that. I know it’s hard to talk about, but please, anything you can give me would help. Letting these people run around with a <i><b>very</b> successful</i> version of the super soldier serum is a danger we cannot afford.” Finally he revealed that he indeed did know. Subtly telling you that he knew you had been a <i>successful experiment.</i> You eye him for a moment, not knowing whether to trust him or not.</p>
<p>“The doctor- at least that’s how I always thought of him, he may not even be an actual doctor- that injected me was named Omar I think.” Tony's head whips towards you. Not only did you just basically admit to a government agent that you had been given an altered version of the super soldier serum, you dropped a name he hadn’t heard yet. He was staring at you with wide eyes that said <i>‘why the fuck did you just do that?’</i> You ignore him for the time being. “I didn’t hear his name until the day I escaped, so I’m not super sure. But I think they were talking about him. I have no idea about a last name.”</p>
<p>Agent Coulson nods as he writes the information down in a notepad. “Thank you. I have a few more questions, but they are more about how you are doing with everything.” Everything being the kidnapping, torturing, injections, and the abilities you received from them. You had no idea why it felt like you were being handled with kid gloves. It was obvious he wanted something from you- maybe even wanted to run tests on you. Yet it felt like he was buttering you up first. Pretending to care about your well-being. Maybe he was just being genuine…? Either way.</p>
<p>“I’m doing fine. Still adjusting to a <b>normal</b> life.” Making it clear that you just wanted to be normal. You didn’t want the government breathing down your neck for the rest of your life- asking for blood, tissue samples, maybe even for you to use your super strength for them. You had to let it be made clear before he got any ideas. </p>
<p>“How about your nightmares?” How in the hell did he know about those? The same question was obviously burning in Tony's mind as he shifted uncomfortably at the question and squeezed your hand tighter. </p>
<p>“How do you know about my nightmares?” Snapping this out. He gives a small soft smile.</p>
<p>“The bags under your eyes. It’s clear you haven’t been sleeping.” Oh. You didn't think about that. You <i>do</i> have some monstrous bags under your eyes. “I can give you something to help if you want. It’s a one time shot-” You immediately cringe at the thought of being injected with anything. “- A lot of my agents have taken it. It eases nightmares, sometimes completely stops them.” </p>
<p>The thought of being nightmare free, of <i>actually sleeping,</i> was a good one. You could handle an injection for that. “That actually sounds nice.”</p>
<p>This is where Tony can’t hold his tongue any longer. “Wait- Why should we trust you?”</p>
<p>Coulson looks right at you. “Malik and Amir took it.” Their names falling from his mouth make you freeze in shock. <i>How did he know about them? <b>Wait- He had contact with them.</b></i> </p>
<p>The realization makes you shoot up out of the seat. Hands slamming down a little too hard on the table. Cracks spread out from where your hands were pressing down.  “Are they ok? Did they make it out alright?” The need to know if they were ok was overwhelming you. All you had to go on until now was that you were able to watch them leave the horrid cave, disappearing into the distance in a jeep. You never found out if they actually made it somewhere safe. You had only been able to <i>hope</i> that they had. But now you could know for sure…</p>
<p>“They’re fine.” Eyeing the cracks in the table as he spoke. Voice still completely calm despite your slight show of strength. Tony moves to pull you back down into your seat. You follow his direction begrudgingly. Coulson continues calmly once you get settled. “We found them at the site of your escape about a month ago, looking at the bodies. When we approached them they said they had come looking for your body- and to retrieve another body. A woman named Fatima.” They had come back to look for you? They thought you had died, like Fatima. They wanted to retrieve both of your bodies- probably to properly bury them. Or maybe send yours home to Tony.</p>
<p>“Where are they now?” If Coulson had brought them here to the U.S. you could see them. </p>
<p>“After we debriefed them they went home to their village in Afghanistan.” He gives you another small soft smile. “They seemed very happy to hear you were alive.”</p>
<p>Tony’s hand finds yours beneath the table again as tears fill your eyes. It was so relieving to know they were ok, and that now they knew you were too. Maybe one day you’ll go see them. You clear your throat as you remember what first brought them up. “You said they took the shot?”</p>
<p>He nods. “They did. Malik had complained about nightmares, so it was given to both him and his father. It seemed to help them both immensely.” </p>
<p>“I’ll take it then.” Tony looks like he’s about to object but you shoot him a look. He chooses to stay silent, looking annoyed as he does so. He clearly wasn’t a fan of some agent injecting you with anything. Especially something he hadn’t vetted himself beforehand. </p>
<p>Coulson nods and pulls out a syringe from his pocket, along with some alcohol wipes. Both you and Tony immediately zone in on the wipes. He’s the first to speak up. “Don’t use those wipes.” At Coulson’s slightly confused look he continues. “She’s developed a sensitivity to alcohol, gets hives. Real disgusting. You don’t want to see it. Trust me.”</p>
<p>His quick cover story forces you to hide your laugh with a cough. You clear your throat before adding on. “I really don’t want to be itchy for hours, Agent Coulson. You can just give me the shot without disinfecting the needle. I’ll be fine.”</p>
<p>He nods and comes over to your side of the table. You take your jacket off to reveal your short sleeve shirt beneath. You pull your sleeve up for him as he readys the needle. You squeeze your eyes shut and turn away when he pushes it in. Tony rubs your back soothingly throughout the process. You feel the medicine go into your veins and the needle being pulled out before you open your eyes again. You pull your sleeve down and shrug. “That wasn’t so bad. I hardly felt-” </p>
<p>Your whole body suddenly tenses, every single muscle locks up. Your eyes roll back and everything goes black as your body starts to shake uncontrollably.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hey guys! Sorry for not posting a chapter yesterday. I've been feeling sick for a few days and couldn't bring myself to write. I had a raging headache and was super tired. I managed to evade a headache long enough to write this today ;p Thoughts about how the meeting went?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Chapter 23</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The aftermath of the meeting with Coulson.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The amount of <i><b>panic</b></i> and <i><b>fear</b></i> that hits Tony nearly makes him freeze. He somehow manages to catch her body when she starts shaking uncontrollably, sending her flying to the floor. He barely registers Coulson helping him lower her to the floor gently, he cradles her head in his lap to keep her from smashing it on the floor. Her spasms are so strong it takes both him and Coulson combined to keep her still. </p><p>He doesn’t know what to do. If she were anybody else he’d be calling 911 right now. But he can’t. Who knows what kind of blood samples they would take, the tests they would run… the things they could find. All he can do is hold her and hope she comes out of the seizure ok. His panic turns into a boiling rage as looks on helplessly as his best friend fails in his lap. He directs his rage at Coulson- who still looks as calm as he was before. “<b>What the fuck did you do to her?</b>” If he wasn’t holding her he’d be getting arrested for assaulting a federal officer right about now.</p><p>“I didn’t <i>do</i> anything. The drug must have had an adverse reaction to the serum.” Coulson looks up at Tony, a hint of worry in his eyes despite his calm exterior. “I didn’t know this would happen… I just wanted to help her.”</p><p>For some reason, Tony believes him. It was probably the worry shining clearly in his eyes, or the sadness lacing his voice as his sentence ended. Despite the indifferent look on his face, the man did care. It ebbed his rage, dropping it to a frustration. He looks back down at her as the spasms finally die down, leaving her laying limp in his lap. He watches her chest rise and fall with each breath. He strokes her hair back from her sweaty forehead gently. “I think you should leave now.” Tony is uncharacteristically placated as he says this, not as demanding as he usually would be. He just feels defeated, having just watched his best friend have a seizure while not being able to do a damn thing about it.</p><p>Coulson nods and goes to hand Tony a card. “Here’s my card, call if you need anything.”</p><p>Tony eyes it for a second before gesturing to the table. “I don’t like being handed things. Leave it on the table.”</p><p>As Coulson leaves Tony looks back down at her. He starts to run his fingers through her hair, she releases a content sigh subconsciously and snuggles into his lap. The action makes him smile. She’d be ok. All he had to do was wait for her to wake up now.</p>
<hr/><p>When you begin to wake the first thing you notice is the throbbing pain in your head. You keep your eyes closed as you groan and snuggle further into the warm, soft surface beneath your head. The next thing you notice is the soothing motion of someone’s fingers running through your hair. The final thing you notice is the sudden wave of <i>worry</i> that washes over you. Confusion sets in immediately. Why were you worried? And why were you on the cold floor?</p><p>You open your eyes to see the outline of Tony’s face above you, staring at the wall lost in thought. You don’t see Coulson anywhere. Your confusion deepens when you see the worry <i>you</i> feel on <i>his</i> face. You say his name quietly. “Tony.” His eyes snap to yours instantly. A wave of <i>relief</i> washes over you then. Your confusion boils to a maximum, mixing with a little fear, as you realize <i><b>these aren’t your feelings.</b></i> </p><p>“Hey. How are you feeling?” He’s speaking in a quiet and soothing voice, not stopping his hand’s motion in your hair. Completely ignorant to your current inner turmoil. You’re too busy trying to process <i>what the hell was happening</i> to reply. You <b>feel</b> his worry deepen at the lack of a response. “Ace?”</p><p>You shoot up and back away from him. Feeling his <i>confusion</i> as you did so. You stare at him with wide eyes as you say- mostly to yourself. “What the fuck is happening?”</p><p>His brows furrow, in that same confusion and worry you could feel coming from him. “You had a seizure after Coulson gave you that shot. You’ve been out for a while. Are you ok?”</p><p>You shake your head frantically causing his worry to deepen even more, nearly overwhelming you. “Why the fuck am I feeling what you’re feeling?”</p><p>“What?” Completely baffled and confused by your question, having no idea how to respond to something like that. “What do you mean you’re feeling what I’m feeling?”</p><p>“I can <i>feel</i> your worry for me. Your confusion too, hell even the shock mixed in now!”</p><p>“Are you sure they’re my feelings?” Not believing you in the slightest. “Did you hit your head when you fell? I tried to catch you but you may have hit it on something.” He leans forward and starts to examine your head for any bumps. You slap his hands away.</p><p>“No, Tony! I woke up feeling all warm and safe- you have one hell of a comfy lap by the way- and then I was suddenly hit by this feeling of worry. I know it wasn’t my own!” Trying to explain to him how you just <i>knew</i> it was his feelings you were feeling. As crazy as it was, it somehow made sense to you. How could you convince him? Aha-“Think of a memory that gives you a strong emotion and I’ll tell you what it is.”</p><p>“You know how crazy this sounds, right?” He was giving you quite a look. “Super strength is one thing, Ace. Feeling other people’s emotions is another.”</p><p>“Just do it! You can tell me I’m crazy if I’m wrong.” He sighs and closes his eyes. After a few seconds you begin to feel a heart-wrenching sadness, so strong it causes tears to pool in your eyes. Your voice comes out a bit choked up. “Jesus, Tony. What are you thinking about?”</p><p>His eyes fly open, sadness quickly giving way to shock as he clocks the tears in your eyes. “I- uh- the day Rhodey told me you were taken…Holy shit you really can feel my feelings can’t you?” You nod as you wipe the tears away. He tries for a small smile. “I always told you that you’re too empathetic.” Joking, as he tended to do in serious situations.</p><p>You let out a watery giggle. “I think this takes empathetic to a whole new level.” He lets out a chuckle. Your eyes move to look at the ground, fear creeping in a little more now that the initial shock is fading away. “...What’s happening to me Tony? How did this happen?”</p><p>He pulls you back into his lap, arms wrapping around your middle and his head falling to rest on your shoulder as yours leans against his. A feeling of protectiveness flares in him. It drives away the lingering fear you were feeling. “I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out.”</p><p>You stay like that for a long time, just clinging to each other. Eventually your back starts to ache from the position the two of you were in. “I know I said your lap is comfy, but I want to go home. I want to figure this out.” Sitting here basking in Tony’s protectiveness was an odd feeling, but knowing he was going to help you figure out what the hell happened and protect you too was comforting. </p><p>He nods and releases his hold on you. You slide off of his lap and onto the floor as he stands, offering a hand to help you up. He pulls you up and keeps you close by placing a hand at your lower back as you leave the room. </p><p>The second you enter the hallway you’re bombarded by a plethora of different feelings; <i>Sadness, stress, anxiety, anger, happiness, annoyance</i>. It’s so overwhelming that you stumble as if you were hit by a physical force. Tony steadies you and stares at you, his concern amping up. “You ok?”</p><p>You nod despite the sudden wave of dizziness that hits you. “I’m fine… just overwhelmed.”</p><p>He gives a curt nod, perhaps understanding that you’re being blasted by more than just his feelings now. “I texted Happy to bring the car around the back so we won’t run into many people.”</p><p>You can’t muster anything more than a nod in reply, too busy focusing on not face planting and leaning on Tony. He guides you out to the car easily. The relief you feel when you sit down and drive away from all of the people is immeasurable.</p>
<hr/><p>You turned your head away as Tony drew blood. After he finishes he puts it into an analyzer to see if anything changed within it. Then he turns and stares at you, seemingly questioning something. “JARVIS, do a brain scan.” You raise your brow as lights pass over your head. Considering the underlying current of worry still thrumming through him, he must be thinking about any lingering effects from the seizure. You felt fine… well except for feeling a little too much.</p><p>“Sir, there appears to be an anomaly.” JARVIS’ announcement sends a pulse of heavy concern through Tony. He rushes to his monitor.</p><p>“Put it up.” He studies the scan when it appears, his brows raising in surprise. “Your limbic cortex activity is heightened drastically. It’s up by 230%. Your hippocampus is heightened as well, just not as much. Only up 74%.” </p><p>You walk up behind him and study it as well. “The drug was probably meant to target the hippocampus, since it’s heavily responsible for storing memories. They were probably able to develop something that limits the retrieval of memories when you’re asleep. Without the memories, nightmares would likely lessen or even completely stop. That’s amazing...” You trail off in thought. “The limbic cortex impacts mood and judgement. That must be what is making me feel others' emotions. I don’t think they meant for it to be affected, it doesn’t play a big role in nightmares. What caused the increase?”</p><p>“My best guess is whatever that Agent injected you with didn’t agree with the serum. Must have caused a chemical reaction. It explains the seizure, whatever it was definitely affected your brain.” He turns to you then, scrutinizing you. “You still feeling ok?”</p><p>“I feel fine Tony. I had a headache when I first woke up, but now I’m perfectly fine. Just hating the emotions thing.”</p><p>“Yeah… that’s something else.” He rubs a hand down his face. “You know, I’m feeling very violated by you knowing exactly what I’m feeling.”</p><p>You huff out a laugh. “I’m dreading when you’re gonna be dripping with lust. Don’t expect me to go to any parties with you until this either goes away or I can control it.”</p><p>“You think you’ll be able to control it?” He raises an eyebrow at you, perhaps wondering why you think that.</p><p>You shrug. “I’ll go crazy if I can’t. I don’t want to be molested by feelings 24/7. Maybe I can learn to block it out? Or maybe I’ll just get used to it and it’ll be like being nose blind to something?  Brain blind?”</p><p>He snorts. “I think you’re already brain blind.” You smack his arm with more force than necessary. He rubs his arm with a pout. “No fair, you have super strength.”</p><p>“Don’t insult me and I won't hit you. Easy enough.” He raises his hands in defeat. You turn and start to walk away.</p><p>“Where are you going?” He asks with a huff. </p><p>“I’m going to try to learn how to control this shit.”</p><p>“Don’t you need someone with emotions to do that?” He says matter of factly. Voice full of smugness.</p><p>You stop and turn to look at him. Right, he has a point. Can’t practice blocking emotions without the emotions part.  “Are you volunteering?”</p><p>“Yup, let’s get you brain blind.” He smirks. You roll your eyes, already regretting saying that.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Despite his worry about Ace, Tony has the uncanny ability to lighten any situation. I don't think anyone else would immediately try to joke after your best friend has a seizure and starts feeling your feelings... But it's how he deals with tough situations. Thoughts on the chapter and reveal of her new power?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Chapter 24</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tony gives Ace a thoughtful gift.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The rest of the week leading up to Christmas was chaotic. There were a lot of blood samples taken, cognitive tests run, attempts at blocking out emotions, and then gift shopping between all of that. Honestly, the gift shopping was probably the hardest. Tony was impossible to shop for, the man had everything he could ever need or want. Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey were all easy. You got Pepper a nice- and rather expensive- abstract piece of art, Happy got a new set of suits to wear while on the job, and Rhodey got a really nice pair of steel toe boots to replace his old military issued ones. You had given them their gifts a few days ago, since no one would be around on Christmas day. Pepper went home to visit her family, Happy said he already had plans, and Rhodey was still deployed, so you sent his boots to him in a care package. Only after all of that did you think of a good gift for Tony- and had to get it rushed so it was ready in time for Christmas day. </p>
<p>Christmas usually wasn’t a huge deal to either of you, it used to pass by almost unnoticed. One or the both of you would casually drop a present off for the other, not making a huge deal about it. But this year, Tony had wanted to do a proper gift exchange. It surprised you, ever since his parents died he hadn’t wanted to. So, here you are Christmas morning waiting for Tony to wake up. Warm cup of hot chocolate snug between your fingers, fire crackling in the fireplace, laptop in your lap as you fiddled with some designs. It was peaceful.</p>
<p>It was disrupted by a small box suddenly falling into your lap. You look up to see Tony standing there with a small grin. His hair a mess, pajamas slightly askew, and he’s exuding <i>giddiness</i> with a little <i>nervousness</i> tossed in. His brown eyes are alight with life.  “Merry Christmas.”</p>
<p>You smile back at him as he drops onto the couch beside you, jostling you a bit. You take out your own equally small box and toss it into his lap as well. “Merry Christmas, Tony.”</p>
<p>“I’m opening mine first. Saving the best gift for last.” Already claiming his gift for you was going to be better than yours for him. You roll your eyes fondly and gesture for him to go ahead and open it. He unties the red ribbon excitedly, not unlike a child on Christmas morning, letting it fall onto the floor after. You hold your breath as he opens the box to reveal your gift. After much thought and deliberation you had the idea of giving him custom cufflinks. They were rectangular and golden, each a playing card- the Ace of Hearts. The symbols of the card were in a hot rod red, meant to stand out against the shiny gold. As he studies them you can feel his sudden swell of <i>affection.</i> He looks up at you with a genuine smile after gently returning them to their box. His eyes shining with that same affection you felt coming from him. “They’re perfect.” He clears his throat and waves his hand dramatically. “Now open yours already!”</p>
<p>You’re able to feel his <i>nervousness</i> rise as you start opening the box he had given you. It causes your own nervousness to spring forth, making your hands shake as you open it. You pull away the lid and look at the charm lying inside. The first thing you notice is the shiny gold, seems like there was a common theme for today. When you gently lift it up and study it you see ‘FAM-ILY’  written in a beautiful font. You immediately understand its meaning. Tony clears his throat a second time. Nervousness still there. “It’s for your family.” The one you made in Afghanistan. “Their initials spell FAM, and the ILY stands for I Love You.” <i><b>Fatima, Amir, Malik- I Love You.</b></i> “It couldn’t have lined up more perfect if I tried.” Malik’s cheerful voice rings in your ears, a memory from your first real conversation with him. </p>
<p>
  <i>“My mama always says things will line up as a sign you’re on the right path. Clearly we both are meant to be here.”</i>
</p>
<p>You sit there rubbing your thumb over the letters, <i>on the right path huh?</i> When you don’t say anything, Tony continues a bit more nervously. “It’s a charm for your anklet… If you don’t like it you can just say it and I’ll get you something-”</p>
<p>You cut him off by tackling him into a hug, burying your tear filled face into his chest. “It’s perfect, Tony. Thank you so much.” His <i>nervousness</i> finally fades, consumed by the <i>affection</i> swirling about him.</p><hr/>
<p>After the peaceful Christmas morning, the chaotic pace of life continued. You stayed home when Tony went to a New Years Eve party. That had led to an awkward encounter with his hook-up the next morning.</p>
<p>
  <i>“Who are you?” You look up at the sound of the nasally voice coming from behind you to see a brunette wearing one of Tony’s shirts. You roll your eyes. Where was Pepper when you needed her? “Did Tony bring you here after we finished?”</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>You scrunch your nose up at the implication. “No. I live here.”</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>The woman’s face dropped and <b>mortification</b> rose.  “Oh My God! I’m so sorry! I had no idea he had a girlfriend!”</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>You couldn’t even bring yourself to reply. Too busy laughing until you were wheezing. She stared at you confused until you just slinked down into the workshop, laugh still echoing behind you.</i>
</p>
<p>You eventually started going into the office again, having stopped to avoid being overwhelmed by a thousand different emotions. You went during odd hours when most people would already be home. It was good practice to get <i>brain blind</i> as you had so eloquently put it. You were able to learn to ignore most people’s emotions, only those in your immediate vicinity still bothered you a bit. But you were able to eventually learn to ignore the weaker feelings of those people as well, only getting distracted by a sudden flush of one feeling. Like when Obi got angered, or Tony’s lust. You always immediately left when Tony was feeling… saucy. You didn’t like how it affected you.</p>
<p>It took a long time, several months in fact, to be able to go into the office during normal hours. But you managed it. It became easier everyday to ignore any emotions being thrown at you unless you specifically focused on what someone was feeling. You had finally learned to control, what Tony had deemed, your <i>sixth sense.</i> You no longer randomly started crying when someone who just had their heart broken walked by your office. You no longer suddenly punched the wall in rage when Obi walked by after a meeting turned sour. Tony’s emotions always influenced you the most though, even now that you had learned to control your sixth sense. When he’d swagger into your office, confident as can be, it’d infect you with some of that confidence for the rest of the day. You tended to let that happen, not hating having the confidence you usually lacked. </p>
<p>Whenever you weren’t working- which was most of the time- you’d either do some more pointless testing or hang out with Tony, Pepper, or Happy. Happy wouldn’t let you go anywhere by yourself, ever since you came home from Afghanistan he had been very overprotective. Pepper too, she was always willing to help you no matter what. She had essentially become your assistant as well as Tony’s. So much so that you had Tony give her a raise, even if you only rarely asked her to do something. </p>
<p>Nothing new came of any of the tests. Nothing showed in any blood work and brain scans had remained the same since you had received the shot. Despite what came of the shot, you appreciated it. You had only had a handful of nightmares since you’d gotten it. You slept much better now, even if it was still an odd schedule. Without the nightmares, life felt better overall. You still had lingering issues because of your captivity, but it wasn’t anything you couldn’t handle. </p>
<p>You still flinched and expected the sharp sting of a whip whenever you heard a metallic clang. But you no longer slipped in your awareness, no longer slipped to being back in that cell. That seemed to have stopped when you got the shot, an aftereffect of it you supposed. You couldn’t spend too long down in the workshop, and avoided it completely when Tony was actively building something that required hammering.</p>
<p>There were still bad days, usually after your now somewhat rare nightmares. Days you couldn’t do anything except sit on the balcony to enjoy freedom. Days where your memories would come to the forefront of your mind, leaving you victim to the pain and suffering they brought. Days you avoided all physical contact with everyone, even Tony. Days you had a little more trouble controlling yourself, both your sixth sense and your super strength. Days you were just <i>overwhelmed</i> by everything.</p>
<p>Rhodey had tried to suggest therapists, but you shut him down every time. You appreciated his concern, but the things you went through were not for anyone else to know. Only Tony knew the whole story, and he’s the only one who ever will. You couldn’t even fathom opening up to a complete stranger, it wasn’t how you worked. So, you did the only thing you could do. Buried yourself in work.</p>
<p>Time blended together as it sped by in a fog-like haze. Tony’s birthday passed with a grand party, followed by yours with an equally glamorous one, then Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years. It all passed between the haze of meetings, designing, testing, building when you could, avoiding reporters, bad days, good days,  time with Tony, Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey when he came home. The only thing that broke the haze were the words coming out of Obi’s mouth.</p>
<p>“You and Tony need to go to Afghanistan for a weapons demonstration.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next chapter we finally get to Iron Man! I've been itching to write it, I didn't think Ace's backstory would last as long as it did. But, all the key points were hit and now it's time to move forward.  This one was definitely a filler and purely meant to speed up the timeline lol. That's why it's a little shorter. </p>
<p>Also, we should be getting back to daily uploads now. I'm feeling better ;p</p>
<p>Fun Fact: I didn't plan for the family to have the initials FAM, I noticed it well after I gave them their names and just knew I had to make a little gift out of it. I think it turned out adorable.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Chapter 25</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The beginning of Iron Man!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>“You and Tony need to go to Afghanistan for a weapons demonstration.”</i>
</p><p>That had been almost a week ago yet the words were still ringing in your ears. Despite Tony’s very vocal objections, Obi had refused to budge on the matter. He kept saying it’d be good for the company to show you aren’t afraid of what happened and that you want to put those responsible into the ground. In the end you caved and agreed to go… maybe it would provide a little closure. Or maybe you’d be an anxious wreck the entire time. Only one way to find out. </p><p>Since then Tony has been trying to keep your mind off of your impending trip, which led to you being dragged to a casino for an award he was being given the night before your departure. And <i>that</i> led to you being left alone with Obi at a table listening to the narrator talk about Tony’s life as pictures flashed across the screen. “Tony Stark. Visionary. Genius. American patriot. Even from an early age, the son of legendary weapons developer Howard Stark quickly stole the spotlight with his brilliant and unique mind. At age four…”</p><p>The words faded as you spun in your chair to see if Tony had gotten back yet. He had slipped out earlier saying he <i>‘needed a break from all the stuffiness’</i> and hadn’t returned. You know he went to enjoy the fact he was in a casino, leaving you behind to cover for him most likely. It definitely left you in a less than stellar mood. Not only did you have to worry about tomorrow, you had to sit here and suffer alone, all while trying to ignore hundreds of different emotions. You turn back to the front when, to your surprise, Rhodey takes the stage.</p><p>“As liaison to Stark Industries, I've had the unique privilege of serving with a real patriot. He is my friend and he is my great mentor. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to present this year's Apogee Award to Mr. Tony Stark.” He starts clapping with the rest of the crowd before he pauses as he looks towards your table. “Tony?” You lock eyes with him and shake your head. So, not only did Tony ditch you, he let Rhodey down too. Great.</p><p>Obi stands up beside you and makes his way to the stage. He steps up to Rhodey with his hand held out or a shake while using his other to take the award. “Thank you, Colonel.” He turns to the crowd while holding it up. “This is beautiful. Thank you. Thank you all very much. This is wonderful.” He pauses as the applause dies down. “Well, I’m not Tony Stark.” The crowd laughs at his lackluster joke. You discreetly stand and make your way towards the exit with his voice droning on. “But if I were Tony, I would tell you how honored I feel and what a joy it is to receive this very prestigious award. Tony, you know...The best thing about Tony is also the worst thing. He's always working-”</p><p>His voice cuts out as the door shuts behind you, replaced by the sounds of cheering and laughter. The door opens again as you move to walk into the crowd, but the calling of your name stops you. You turn to see Rhodey there, looking very displeased and holding the award. “Where is he?”</p><p>“I don’t know. Ditched me a while ago, I was just going to look for him. Care to join me?” Your voice was tired sounding. You really didn’t want to be here anymore. </p><p>“I’m gonna knock him on his ass when we find him.” He mumbles and offers his free arm for you to loop yours through. You feel his <i>slight protectiveness</i> flare in him as he can easily tell how done you were with the night. It felt nice to lean on him a bit, a familiar presence always eased you. The two of you trek off into the crowd.</p><p>It’s not long before an extra big, extra loud crowd draws your attention. Rhodey pulls you through the crowd to its center, and sure enough there Tony was. Playing craps with women hanging off of him. Completely ignoring what he was supposed to be there for. His rising <i>lust</i> made you keep away from him and towards Happy while Rhodey approached him. “You are unbelievable.”</p><p>Tony turns to Rhodey and says with exasperation in his tone. “Oh no! Did they rope you into this?”</p><p>“Nobody roped me into anything.” Rhodey ignores Tony’s quiet apology and continues. “But they told me that if I presented you with an award, you'd be deeply honored.”</p><p>“Of course I'd be deeply honored. And it's you, that's great. So, when do we do it?”</p><p>“It’s right here. Here you go.” Rhodey hands him the award.</p><p>“There it is. That was easy. I'm so sorry.'' Tony takes the award from him and immediately hands it to a woman beside him. Rhodey's <i>annoyance</i> is a prominent feeling now. “Wow! Would you look at that? That's something else. I don't have any of those floating around. We’re gonna let it ride!” He picks up the dice and holds his hand to the woman. “Give me a hand, will you? Give me a little something-something.” She blows on it and Tony turns to Rhodey. “Okay, you, too.”</p><p>“I don’t blow on a man’s dice.”</p><p>“Come on, honey bear.” </p><p>“I don’t blow on a man’s dice.” Rhodey knocks the dice out of Tony’s hand. You’re holding back a smile from the exchange. Despite Tony acting like a complete ass, he’s still funny. Add Rhodey into the mix and it’s a sure way to get a laugh.</p><p>“There it is. Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes rolls! And…”</p><p>“Two craps. Line away.” The dealer announces. </p><p>“That’s what happens.” Rhodey shrugs.</p><p>“Worse things have happened. I think we're gonna be fine. Color me up, will ya?”</p>
<hr/><p>After what felt like ages, Tony finally turns away from the table. He's <i>surprised</i> to see you standing next to Happy. “You’re still here? I thought you would have left by now.”</p><p>“Well, you’re kind of my ride.” You gesture up towards Happy. “Couldn’t exactly leave if I wanted to.”</p><p>He cringes slightly. “Right. Sorry.” You’re able to feel a slight trickle of <i>guilt</i> coming from him. At least he’s actually somewhat sorry. He puts his arm around your waist and pulls you away from Happy while walking away. “I’m done here, let’s go home.”</p><p>Rhodey catches up to the two of you down the hall. He holds his hand out to Tony. “This is where I exit. Tomorrow, don’t be late.”</p><p>“Yeah, you can count on it.” Tony takes his hand in a tight grip. Yeah right. Tony being on time to anything? A miracle.</p><p>“I’m serious!” He says to Tony before turning to you. “Make sure you're both there on time please.” Rhodey leans forward and gives you a quick hug before turning to leave. </p><p>“See you tomorrow, Rhodey!” You call after him. He turns and gives you a wave before continuing away. Tony pulls out his award and hands it to a man dressed as Julius Caesar.</p><p>“Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s. There you go.” All without stopping for a second. He keeps his hold on your waist until you exit the casino. Once outside you step away from him and beeline for the car. Tonight was too draining. Too many people and emotions. You were ready to fall into bed and never wake up again. Especially if it meant not having to go to Afghanistan tomorrow. Just as Tony goes to get into the car, a voice calling out stops him. You turn to face her- just to see who is prolonging your suffering.</p><p>“Mr. Stark! Excuse me, Mr. Stark! Christine Everhart, Vanity Fair magazine. Can I ask you a couple of questions?” A blonde woman stands there. A reporter. Of course. It never ends. Just another 30 seconds and you would have been well on your way home. </p><p>After a mumbled exchange with Happy, Tony turns to face her with a charming smile. “Hi.”</p><p>“Hi.”</p><p>“Yeah, ok. Go.”</p><p>“You've been called the da Vinci of our time. What do you say to that?”</p><p>“Absolutely ridiculous. I don't paint.” Of course he gives a snarky answer. </p><p>“And what do you say to your other nickname? ‘The Merchant of Death’?”  Her tone drops to a deadpan as she speaks. So she’s one of those. </p><p>“That's not bad.” Tony pauses and studies her. “Let me guess. Berkeley?”</p><p>“Brown, actually.”</p><p>“Well, Ms. Brown. It's an imperfect world, but it's the only one we've got. I guarantee you, the day weapons are no longer needed to keep the peace, I'll start making bricks and beams for baby hospitals.” You’re surprised by Tony’s somewhat serious answer. He still threw in a joke, but his tone was serious. But underneath all that, a slow tide of <i>lust</i> was beginning to form. </p><p>“Rehearse that much?”</p><p>“Every night in front of the mirror before bedtime.” </p><p>“I can see that.” A little wave of returning <i>lust</i> begins to leak from Ms. Everhart.</p><p>“I'd like to show you first-hand.” Tony suggestively says. You sigh and turn to the car, already knowing what was about to happen. You open the passenger door in the front and get in, ignoring Happy’s confused look. You pull the partition up and wait in the car. Sure enough, a few moments later they get in. Hands hardly keeping to themselves. Happy gets in and you finally head home, ignoring the happenings of the seat behind you, lost in worries about what the next day brings.</p>
<hr/><p>The next morning you were sitting in the living room working when you heard Tony’s latest hook-up come down the stairs. You turn to see her in Tony’s shirt from last night with no pants on. She doesn’t see you sitting there as she wanders around the room curiously. She walks out of sight for a second before you hear JARVIS. “You are not authorized to access this area.”</p><p>You sigh and get up, walking until she’s in view. “That’s JARVIS. He runs the house.”</p><p>She spins to face you, a little startled by your sudden appearance. She takes you in. “You must be the famous Pepper Potts.”</p><p>You laugh as you gesture behind her. “No, that would be her.” She spins around again to see Pepper standing there holding clothes with a polite smile.</p><p>“I’ve got your clothes here. They’ve been dry-cleaned and pressed, and there’s a car waiting for you outside that will take you anywhere you want to go.” How Pepper stays so professional all the time, you’d never know.</p><p>“After all these years, Tony still has you picking up the dry-cleaning.” She approaches pepper and takes her clothes from her. You stand up and walk over to them, not liking the tone in her voice.</p><p>“I do anything and everything that Mr.Stark requires, including occasionally taking out the trash. Will that be all?” You barely manage to hide your laugh with a cough as Everhart storms away, presumably to go get dressed. You turn to Pepper with a shit-eating grin. </p><p>“You’re brilliant, you know that?” Her professional facade finally cracks and her smile turns into a grin.</p><p>“I’m pretty proud of myself for that one.” She then turns a bit more professional once again. “You know you and Tony are late for the flight, right?”</p><p>“Yeah. I didn’t feel like going down and talking to him today. He and Ms. Trash kept me up most of the night.” The fact that you weren’t overly excited to be going back to Afghanistan played a part too. You weren’t in a hurry to leave, even if it did make you feel a little bad about making Rhodey wait. </p><p>She sighs and nods before turning to the stairs. “I’ll go get him. Happy is already outside if you want to head out.” </p><p>You give her a mock salute and head outside to wait in the car with Happy. A good 20 minutes later, Tony pulls up in his Audi. He gets out and knocks on Happy’s window. Happy rolls it down. “Yes, boss?”</p><p>“Let’s race to the airstrip.” He leans in and looks in the back where you’re sitting. “You wanna ride with me?”</p><p>You begin to shake your head no, because you honestly don’t want to, but stop when you feel a little trickle of <i>disappointment</i> come from him. He really wants you to ride with him. You sigh and get out of the car. His little spike of <i>happiness</i> almost makes you smile. Without looking at him, because you’d break if you did, you plop into the passenger seat of his Audi as he hops back into the driver's seat and takes off. The car is silent for a few minutes before he speaks. “You’re quiet.”</p><p>“I’m tired.” You say this flatly as you lay your head against the window and look outside.</p><p>“You’re not mad at me are you? Cause that would be uncool.” You really weren’t mad, just overwhelmed and truly tired. </p><p>“I’m just tired, Tony.” A little more agitated now at having to repeat yourself. </p><p>“Why are you so tired?”</p><p>“I don’t know.” You snap and finally turn to look at him and give him a glare. “Maybe because <i>someone</i> dragged me to a casino, where there’s <b>a lot of people with emotions</b>, proceeded to ditch me, then kept me up most of the night before I <i><b>fly to the place I was kidnapped and tortured for three years.</b></i>” Ok, maybe you were a little mad. Or maybe that was just the anxiety speaking. It was hard to tell anymore. </p><p>His <i>guilt</i> permeates the space then. “I’m sorry.” He reaches over and gives your hand a quick squeeze before returning it to the wheel. It eases your storm of emotions a bit, no longer as overwhelmed. He then begins to ramble about anything and everything under the sun, easing you even more as you listen to his voice, letting him distract you from your worries.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The casino scenes were a little chaotic to write for some reason. So much dialogue is involved in them, I found it hard to input Ace's own thoughts in. Any thoughts about the chapter would be great!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Chapter 26</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The plane ride and arrival to Afghanistan with Tony.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You hop out of the car when Tony brings it to a screeching stop. You leave him to talk with Happy as you make your way towards Rhodey standing at the top of the stairs to the entrance of the plane. He looks tense as he stands there, proud in his military uniform. You immediately notice- and feel slightly guilty about- an underlying sense of <i>annoyance</i> coming from him. He raises an eyebrow at you. “Three hours late? That’s unlike you.”</p>
<p>“Tony was busy.” He really wasn’t, but it was easier blaming him. Rhodey nods, taking that as the excuse it was. He gives you a quick pat on your shoulder as you head into the plane. You settle onto the couch, hoping to get a little sleep before you land. It’s not long before Tony and Rhodey join you inside Tony takes his jacket off and lays it on top of you tucking you in a bit. You give him a small thankful smile. He gives a small smile back and a pat on your head before going to settle in one of the chairs. Rhodey sits in the chair across from him, back turned to you. He pulls out a newspaper and reads it, pointedly ignoring Tony’s obvious staring.  You close your eyes and start to finally fade to sleep but...</p>
<p>Tony breaks. “What you reading, platypus?”  His voice pulls you from the edge of sleep. You open your eyes to glare at him from behind Rhodey. He doesn’t even notice. </p>
<p>“Nothing.” Rhodey’s underlying <i>annoyance</i> was still there. Not as prominent as before, but there all the same. </p>
<p>“Come on, sour patch.”</p>
<p>“I’m not sour.” Rhodey talks over him. Annoyance fluttering a bit.</p>
<p>“Don’t be mad.” Tony continues anyways.</p>
<p>Rhodey sighs. “I told you, I’m not mad. I’m indifferent, ok?” Indifferent my ass. You’d call him out for his obvious annoyance, but that’d be awkward since he didn’t know you could literally feel his emotions. </p>
<p>“I said I was sorry.” He turns to face one of the flight attendants as she stops at their table. </p>
<p>“Good morning, Mr. Stark” Her quiet voice is barely heard over the two men still talking over each other.</p>
<p>“You don’t need to apologize to me.”</p>
<p>“I told you I was sorry.”</p>
<p>“I’m your man.”</p>
<p>Tony turns to address the flight attendant. “Hi I told him I was sorry, but he…”</p>
<p>“Hot towel?” She holds out a plate with hot towels on it out to him. </p>
<p>Rhodey continues as if she isn’t there. “I’m just indifferent right now. You don’t respect yourself, so I know you don't respect me.”</p>
<p>Tony attempts to interject. “I respect you.”</p>
<p>But Rhodey just continues. You sigh in frustration, you’re getting no sleep with all of this bickering happening. “I’m just your babysitter, so when you need your diaper changed- thank you-” He thanks the attendant as he grabs a hot towel. “Let me know and I’ll get you a bottle, ok?”</p>
<p>“Hey! Heat up the sake, will you?” Tony asks the flight attendant before turning back to Rhodey. “Thanks for reminding me.”</p>
<p>“No, I’m not talking… We’re not drinking. We’re working right now.”  You can feel that despite his words, his annoyance dies down. He seems to relax a bit overall, not as tense as he was when you first boarded.  But, you weren’t going to stay around for the drinking. That was your cue to leave. You get off the couch with a put out huff, sending a quick glare to Tony who actually notices this time, and walk off to one of the private rooms in the back of the plane. </p>
<p>“Sleep well!” Tony calls after you. You give him a tired wave before disappearing into the room. The quiet of the room puts you at ease. You flop onto the bed with a slight bounce and finally fall asleep a few minutes later, completely ignoring the sound of music starting up in the main part of the plane.</p><hr/>
<p>You find yourself sitting in the cell, alone. You hear Malik and Amir calling your name, yelling for help. Screaming for Fatima to wake up. Begging you to save her. Begging you to save them. Their voices compound into endless echoes bouncing around the empty cell. You put your hands over your ears, pull your knees to your chest, and sob. </p>
<p>There are hands wrapping around your wrists, pulling your hands from your ears. You fight against the hands but they hold on. You look up to see Tony squatting in front of you. He smiles at you. Gentle and kind. “You’re ok. It’s not real.” The screaming stops. Malik and Amir no longer begging. You calm as you look into his wonderfully brown eyes full of so much <i>love.</i></p>
<p>Suddenly He’s torn away from you. Flung across the cell with scary ease. His gentle brown eyes are replaced by cold evil ones. Nasir’s face takes up the rest of your vision as all of the screaming starts up again. Tony’s voice added to the horrid harmony. Nasir’s face twists into a crooked smile. “You can’t save them.”</p>
<p>You shoot up awake. Heart pounding. Eyesight blurry. Chest hurting. Not able to <i><b>breathe</b></i>. Hands land on your face. You back away from them, hitting the headboard behind you with enough force to crack it. Tony’s face comes into your vision then, mouth moving. You can’t hear him over the rushing sound in your ears. You’re suddenly hit with his intense <i>worry</i> and slight <i>fear.</i> It makes it somehow even harder to breathe. He turns to say something over his shoulder a little frantically. In moments Rhodey appears behind him half-dressed. </p>
<p>He sits in front of you on the bed when Tony moves. He takes deep, exaggerated breaths while making a sort of <i>follow me</i> motion with his hands. You eventually manage to take a breath, then another, until the rushing in your ears dies down. The pain in your chest fades away and your heartbeat slows. You’re still unable to calm completely down, the sound of Tony’s voice screaming for help still ringing in your ears. You look to where he was standing to the side and open your arms. Needing him. Needing to know he was ok.</p>
<p>He doesn’t hesitate to sit on the bed beside you and pull you into a tight hug. Your shaking hands wrap around him and cling onto the back of his shirt. You hear Rhodey start to talk. “Has this happened before?”</p>
<p>Tony shakes his head, then pauses. He pulls away a bit and looks down at you. The same question dancing in his eyes. You shake your head no. You’d never reacted to a nightmare the way you just did. You’d never had a nightmare that involved him. You pull him back against you and hold him tightly. Rhodey says your name tentatively. “Have you thought about any of the therapist recommendations I sent you?” </p>
<p>He’d been trying to get you to see a therapist since you got home almost two years ago. You appreciated his concern, especially when you could <i>feel</i> it like right now, but therapy isn’t for you. You pull back from Tony to look at Rhodey. “I don’t need therapy. I’m fine, just had a nightmare”</p>
<p>“Are you sure? Because what I just saw was more than just having a nightmare.” He raises an eyebrow, <i>doubtful.</i></p>
<p>“I’m sure, Rhodey.” You give him a pointed look over. Shirtless, pants obviously hastily pulled on. “Maybe you should go get dressed. You look like you were mugged.” Tony cracks a smile at this.</p>
<p>“She’s not wrong. Have fun with the flight attendants?” He wiggles his eyebrows at Rhodey.</p>
<p>“A guy tries to be helpful and this is the thanks he gets…” Rhodey sighs this out, playfully annoyed. He gives you a quick squeeze on your shoulder before leaving the room.  Once the door shuts behind him, Tony turns his attention back to you.</p>
<p>“What was it about?” He’d taken to asking you about your nightmares a while ago. Especially as they became more rare, the less you had the worse they would be when you did have them. It was a win-lose situation. But, it tended to help a bit when you talked to him about them. </p>
<p>“You.” Accompanied by a tighter squeeze of your arms around him. </p>
<p>“Me?” <i>Surprise</i> colored him then. He knows your nightmares were usually pretty similar, either involving your own torture or the family’s. You’d never had one about him before. “What about me?”</p>
<p>“You were taken. I could hear you screaming for help, calling for me.” Voice cracking a little bit.</p>
<p>“Pff, that’s how you know for sure it’s not real.” You raise your head to look at him with a raised brow. He raises one right back at you. “Do I seem like a screamer to you?”</p>
<p>You finally crack a grin, one that makes him smile. Seems like that was his goal. “Sometimes when you’re really drunk.” He huffs out a laugh and drops his head to rest it on yours, still holding you tightly. </p>
<p>“Nothing will happen to me. I’ll always be here for you, even when you don’t want me to be. I’ll be your annoying best friend forever.”</p>
<p>“I’ll always want you.” More than he’d ever know.</p><hr/>
<p>Just as you were about to disembark the plane, Tony stops you with a hand on your arm. “You know, Obi only wanted you here for the optics. If you aren’t up for it you can just stay on the plane. You don’t need to be there, you’re not even an active part of the presentation.” still worrying about you being here, especially after your little show earlier. </p>
<p>You place your hand over his and give it a quick squeeze. “I’ll be fine Tony. I’m tougher than I look.”</p>
<p>He smiles softly. “Don’t I know it.” He clears his throat and walks out the door, sending a quick “What are you waiting for? Let’s go!” over his shoulder. You sigh in fond annoyance and follow him out and down the steps. His <i>confidence</i> infects you a bit as he approaches the general, shaking his hand firmly. “General.”</p>
<p>“Welcome Mr. Stark. We look forward to your weapons presentation.” He turns to you next and shakes your hand. “Let me make this known, your safety is our priority during this trip.”</p>
<p>You give him a smile. “Thank you.” It eased your concerns a bit, knowing you were being looked out for. Tony too.</p>
<p>You turn to the man standing next to him and shake his hand as well. He says in Arabic. “إنه لشرف كبير أن ألتقي بك.” <i>(“It is an honor to meet you.”)</i></p>
<p>Your smile widens a bit at his words. You say as confidently as you can. “أؤكد لك ، هذا شرف لي.” <i>(“I assure you, the honor is mine”)</i> You turn back to Tony to see him looking at you incredulously. As you’re lead to a humvee he leans into your ear.</p>
<p>“When did you learn Arabic?” You can feel a little undercurrent of <i>pride</i> as he speaks. </p>
<p>“Amir taught me.” You whisper back. He nods and puts his arm around your waist.</p>
<p>“It was very impressive.” Then he smiles at you. “You’re so much more confident than you used to be. You used to cower behind me like a groundhog scared of her own shadow.”</p>
<p>You let out a little laugh as you climb into a humvee, sitting on the hump in the middle back. Tony slides in next to you. “It’s all you.” He looks confused for a second before it clicks. Your <i><b>sixth sense.</b></i> But then he shakes his head.</p>
<p>“No, I noticed the change before that ever happened. Maybe I give you a little boost, but that confidence is your own. It suits you.” Seems like he was in an extra sweet mood today. Probably to make up for the casino, and maybe because you had a freak out on the plane. No matter the reason, you liked it. </p>
<p>Your nervousness rises as the humvee rumbles to a start and pulls off. The last time you had been in one of these… things didn’t end too well. Tony seems to pick up on your nervousness and grabs your hand. He rubs his thumb across the back of your hand while you grip his tightly the entire ride. It had to be painful for him, but he doesn’t complain once.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oooh boy. It's happening next chapter: The weapons demonstration and what we know comes after it...</p>
<p>Theories about how it's gonna go down? How Ace will react?</p>
<p>Also. I would think Tony would initially have no idea how to help Ace during a panic attack, especially when she reacts so negatively when he places his hands on her face. So, Rhodey to the rescue. The military man has had ample experience helping others through them.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0027"><h2>27. Chapter 27</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The weapon demonstration and what follows...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You stand in the back of the group, watching as Tony stands up front and begins his speech. “Is it better to be feared or respected? I say, is it too much to ask for both?” He pauses for a second before continuing. “With that in mind, I humbly present the crown jewel of Stark Industries’ Freedom Line. It’s the first missile system to incorporate our-” He gives a quick head nod towards you in the back. A few people turn to look at you before redirecting their attention to him. “-proprietary repulsor technology. <i>They</i> say the best weapon is one you never have to fire. I respectfully disagree. I prefer the weapon you only have to fire <i>once</i>. That’s how Dad did it. That’s how America does it. And it’s worked out pretty well so far. Find an excuse to let one of these-” He gestures to the Jericho missiles set up to the side. “-off the chain, and I personally guarantee you the bad guys won’t even want to come out of their caves.”</p>
<p>He gestures to the missiles again and they start up, angling towards the deserted mountain range. After they are adjusted correctly, one fires up and launches leaving a trail of smoke behind. You watch with pride as the casing strips off sending multiple mini missiles flying out of the sides, covering a huge range of land. Just before they hit the mountain range “For your consideration, the Jericho.” Tony raises his arms as the missiles hit, sending a huge shockwave speeding towards your group. </p>
<p>The shockwave reaches you, sending Tony stumbling forward a couple steps and launching a couple hats into the air. You smile filled with pride, a successful weapon demonstration. You did absolutely nothing, but Tony did a damn good job.</p>
<p>After he opens up a drink cooler, grabbing a scotch in the process, he approaches you with his phone up. “Obi, what are you doing up?” Great, so he was talking to Obi. He wasn’t in your best graces currently.</p>
<p>You hear his reply come from the other end. <i>“I couldn’t sleep till I found out how it went. How’d it go?”</i></p>
<p>You fall into step beside Tony when he reaches you and keeps walking. “It went great. Looks like it’ll be an early Christmas.”</p>
<p><i>“Hey! Way to go, my boy! Where is-”</i> Tony angles the phone so you’re in view. You give Obi a small wave. Even if you didn’t like him, you could be cordial. <i>“-There she is! I was afraid you skipped out for a second. How’s it going?”</i></p>
<p>“It’s going fine, Obi. Tony did a great job on the presentation.” Immediately redirecting the conversation back to Tony and the demonstration. No need to tell Obi about how you were personally doing. “Knocked their hats off.” Tony shoots you a grin.</p>
<p><i>“That’s what I like to hear! I’ll see you two tomorrow, yeah?”</i> You nod then disappear from the frame as you climb back into the humvee, once again taking the middle back. </p>
<p>“Why aren’t you wearing those pajamas I got you?” You hear Tony ask as he gets in beside you. Followed by Obi’s exasperated tone.</p>
<p><i>“Goodnight, Tony.”</i> Tony slides his phone shut and sits next to you. Rhodey comes up to the window. </p>
<p>“Hey, Tony.” Rhodey places his hand on the window and leans in a bit. Tony leans out to meet him.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, this is the ‘fun-vee’. The ‘hum-drum-vee’ is back there.” Tony, ever the smartass, nods back behind him.</p>
<p>“Nice job.” Despite Tony’s bullshit, Rhodey says this genuinely.</p>
<p>Tony gives him an appreciative nod. “See you back at the base.” He settles back into his seat. Rhodey turns away after giving you a wave, one you return. You lean back against the seat as the humvees drive off.</p>
<p>Throughout the ride the soldier next to you- Forrest you think his name is- keeps looking at Tony and you, leaning forward a miniscule amount to see past you when his gaze switches to Tony. His obvious staring makes you uncomfortable, more so than you already were by just being in the humvee. The soldier up front takes occasional glances back at the two of you as well. Tony, obviously disliking the awkwardness in the air, leans forward to turn on the handheld stereo in the vehicle, playing ACDC at a quieter than normal volume. The music eases your nerves a bit and you relax into the seat more. </p>
<p>Eventually the awkward silence is too much for Tony to take. “I feel like you’re driving us to a court-martial.” You’re grateful for his need to fill silence. Much more of it and you’d slip too far into your thoughts. The anxious worry that was filling you was enough to last you a lifetime. “This is crazy. What did we do? I feel like you’re going to pull over and snuff us.” He leans forward to address the soldier next to you. “What, you’re not allowed to talk? Hey Forrest!”</p>
<p>“We can talk, sir.” The soldier replies shyly, refusing to make eye contact. It’s a little adorable.</p>
<p>“Oh, I see. So it’s personal?” Tony leans back to his previous position. He goes to take a sip of his scotch but stops when the driver speaks.</p>
<p>“No, you intimidate them.” You feel Tony’s slight <i>surprise</i> at her voice. </p>
<p>“Good, god. You’re a woman. I honestly.. I couldn’t have called that.” You slap his shoulder. He looks at you with a shit-eating grin. The soldiers crack a smile at the interaction. Despite your obvious reprimand he continues. “I mean I’d apologize, but isn’t that what we’re going for here?” The soldiers crack a little more and let out small laughs. “I thought of you as a soldier first.”</p>
<p>“I’m an airman.” The woman replies.</p>
<p>“Which is very cool. I haven’t met many female airmen.” You finally chime in. She smiles at you before turning her attention back to the road. </p>
<p>Tony continues to be a little shit. “You have, actually, excellent bone structure, there. I’m kind of having a hard time not looking at you now.” He looks at you with a brow slightly raised. “Is that weird?”</p>
<p>“Yes, very.” You deadpan. Giving him only the most dry look you could muster. The soldiers start to laugh, really laugh. Not the small ones from before.</p>
<p>Tony encourages the laughter even more. “Come on, it’s ok. Laugh.” Finally the awkward atmosphere is broken. </p>
<p>The soldier up front turns in his seat to look at Tony. “Sir, I have a question to ask.”</p>
<p>“Yes, please.” Tony seems relieved for the levity currently in the vehicle. Glad everyone was actually talking.</p>
<p>“Is it true you went 12 for 12 with last year’s Maxim cover models?” </p>
<p>Tony takes his sunglasses off. Taking the question a little too seriously. “That is an excellent question. Yes and no.” The soldier smiles more, intrigued by the answer. “March and I had a scheduling conflict, but fortunately the Christmas cover was twins.” The driver grins up front. You roll your eyes. “Anything else?” He turns to the soldier next to you, who is shyly raising his hand. “You’re kidding me with the hand up, right?”</p>
<p>You smack him in the shoulder again. “Be nice, Tony.”</p>
<p>“Is it cool if I take a picture with both of you?”</p>
<p>Tony answers immediately. “Yes, it’s very cool.” Forrest’s grin as he reaches into his vest to get his camera makes you smile. The man was a sweetheart under all of that tactical gear. Tony slings his arm over your shoulder as he leans in. When the soldier up front has the camera, Forrest leans in against you. You offer a bright smile for the picture. “I don’t want to see this on your MySpace page.” Forrest throws up a peace sign. “Please, no gang signs.”</p>
<p>You sigh as he drops the peace sign, taking Tony too serious. “Tony, just shut up and smile.”</p>
<p>“No, throw it up. I’m kidding.” He completely ignores you, mouth still running a hundred miles a second. The soldier throws the peace sign back up. “Yeah, peace. I love peace. I’d be out of a job with peace.” You pinch his side to get him to shut up. He glances down at you with a smirk, knowing he’s being annoying. Doing it on purpose.</p>
<p>Forrest gets a little impatient as the man up front struggles with the camera. “Come on. Hurry up. Just click it. Don’t change any settings. Just click it.” </p>
<p>The humvee suddenly shakes violently as the one in front explodes. Tony pulls you down with him, covering you with his own body. <i>Overwhelming fear</i> hits you then from every angle, so hard and fast it leaves you struggling to breathe. You can’t make sense of anything that’s happening. The only thought running through your mind being <b>not again. This can’t be happening <i>again.</i></b> You’re vaguely aware of the soldiers up front getting out, followed by you being pulled down again. <i>When had you sat back up?</i></p>
<p>You watch with wide eyes as the man up front gets shot, bullet creating a hole in the windshield. Tony abruptly sits up beside you. You still sit frozen in the seat, half bent over. Your hearing finally returns, bringing all of the explosions and gunfire along with it. The soldier next to you is half out of the vehicle when Tony starts yelling. “Wait, wait, wait! Give me a gun!”</p>
<p>He turns around and yells “Stay here!” after shutting the door. He turns to go aid his allies when a blast sends him to the ground and launches shrapnel into the humvee. Your ears start ringing from the force of it. You barely register Tony saying something to you, hands roaming your body like he’s looking for something. His voice fades in as the ringing clears. </p>
<p>“Are you hit?!” He’s yelling. <i>Fear</i> rushing through him like a tsunami. You manage to shake your head. Sensing you were about to lose it, and you really couldn’t afford that right now, he takes your face in his hands, directing your gaze to his. “We’re gonna be fine. Alright?” Despite his own fear, he’s making sure you’re ok. Reassuring you. Taking care of you. You nod, feeling a little more coherent the longer you stare into his eyes. His hands slip from your face, one going to take yours in a death grip, the other reaching to open the door. “We have to get out of here. We’re sitting ducks in this thing.”</p>
<p>He opens the door and pulls you out after him. You both duck as a small missile flies too close for comfort, landing mere feet away. Tony goes to pull you along, but you don’t let him. “Wait- Tony. I can help them.” You may not have a gun, but you do have super strength. That has to count for something, right?</p>
<p>He whips around to look at you like you’re insane. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but <i>you can’t fist fight bullets!</i>” He’s right. Despite your supposed strength, you’re useless. You wouldn’t get close enough to actually do anything. You’d just be shot down. Or blown up. One of the two. You can’t save anyone. You’d just be a hindrance to the real heroes risking their lives, dodging bullets and returning them at the same time. </p>
<p>This time when Tony pulls, you follow. Your momentary braveness melting away as the sound of battle raged on around you as you run behind him, still hand in hand. He practically leaps behind a big boulder- <i>just like the one you hid behind before</i>- pulling you down with him. He whips his phone out and starts furiously texting something, presumably for help. You sit there leaning against him as you try to keep your breathing steady and mind coherent. It was hard fighting through the waves of <i>terror</i> lapping against you from <i>everyone</i>. Yourself included. </p>
<p>A whistle sounds in your ears, followed by a solid thud as something landed next to you. Both of your heads whip to it, immediately clocking the <i><b>Stark Industries</b></i> written along the side. <i>Why the fuck did one of your missiles come from the <b>enemy</b> frontlines?</i> </p>
<p>You and Tony scramble to your feet simultaneously as you both register the beeping coming from it. <b>It was going to explode.</b> At the last second Tony, quicker than you, pulls you mostly behind him. The explosion sends both of you flying. You hit the ground head first, something hard beneath you. Your vision is instantly blurring, sound completely nonexistent. Pain explodes in your left leg. You fight the intruding darkness on your vision and turn your head- looking for Tony. He needed to be ok. You spy him ripping his shirt open a few feet away. He looks down at his chest before letting his head fall back against the ground. His gaze then falls to yours. Your eyes lock for a single second before the darkness wins.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>jjsdfghjasdkljsdjfsaldhjk</p>
<p>That is all.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0028"><h2>28. Chapter 28</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tony wakes up for the first time since the attack.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tony wakes with a start, watching his breath billow out in front of him in the freezing temperature he found himself in. He stares at the ceiling for a moment trying to figure out where he is and reorient himself. It looked as though he was inside of a cave. He tries to breathe through his nose only to realize there’s an obstruction in one nostril. That’s when the uncomfortable and slightly painful feeling of a tube running down his nose, throat, and into his lungs becomes apparent. A breathing tube. He rips the tape holding it in place off and begins to pull the tube out. The painful feeling of it sliding all the way out makes him let out a grunt of pain and frustratedly rip the end out completely. </p>
<p>He looks around briefly, spying a cup of water on a table close to him. He could use some of that, his throat is painfully dry.  After moving his cold fingers to try to get them working he reaches with a shaking hand to grab the cup. He struggles to reach the cup and knocks it to the ground with a loud clatter. He goes to reach for the taller bottle of water that was beside the cup but stops when he hears humming.</p>
<p>He looks up to see an older man standing in front of him, back turned to him as he shaves in the mirror. He stares at the man for a few seconds before going back to his previous task of getting the water. He stretches and rolls a bit to reach the water but is stopped by a harsh tug on his chest and resulting dragging noise behind him. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” The man speaks up, voice portraying a heavy middle eastern accent.</p>
<p>Tony turns to look at what stopped his movement, shocked to see a car battery sitting there, <i>wires leading to his body</i>, disappearing beneath the bandages wrapped around his chest. A feeling of panic overtakes him as he pats his chest and feels something hard beneath. He frantically begins to rip at the bandages obstructing his view, desperate to see what the hell was on him. As he rips the bandages his panic increases ten-fold as he sees a metal device that disappears <b>inside</b> of his chest </p>
<p>He lays there for a long time, staring down at the device sitting in his chest. He can feel it’s weight as it sits there. Already a haunting presence. He tries to put together his thoughts, to slow his frantic mind. He had to figure out where he was, how he got there, and what the hell is inside his chest. He had just finished the weapon demonstration, got into the humvee with Ace, then- <i>oh God.</i> They were attacked. There was an explosion… then what? The image of her laying there, blood pooling beneath her head, the pain and terror in her eyes before they closed flashes through his mind. He sits up suddenly then, panic freshly renewed, looking around the cave to see if she was brought here too. It was obvious now- he had been kidnapped. Had she been too? She couldn’t go through this a second time.</p>
<p>Once he determines that she isn’t there, at least not in the same room as him, he forces himself to calm down. Panicking would not solve anything. He had to keep his head on straight. Get all the information he could, especially about her, and figure out a way to get out of here. </p>
<p>Careful to not pull the wires he now knows is connected to something inside of him, he finally gets a drink of the water he so desperately needed and pulls the rest of the bandages off of him. They were no longer needed. The man who was shaving doesn’t say anything more after his brief warning, merely hands Tony a jacket, pair of fingerless gloves, and a mirror. </p>
<p>Despite not trusting the man Tony finds himself accompanied by, he hurriedly puts on the offered clothing. Wherever they were- definitely a cave- was freezing. He uses the mirror to get a better look at the device. The man busies himself with whistling and grabbing a pan, to cook he supposed, while Tony examines the device in him. Eventually, Tony gathers himself enough to be able to speak. His voice comes out quiet and gravelly. “What the hell did you do to me?”</p>
<p>The man chuckles. “What I did?” He chuckles again. “What I did is to save your life. I removed all the shrapnel I could, but there’s a lot left, and it’s headed into your atrial septum.” He turns away from the food to reach for something. “Here. Want to see?” He jiggles a small jar resulting in little jingles. “I have a souvenir. Take a look.”</p>
<p>He tosses the jar to Tony. He brings it up to the light, looking at the tiny pieces of shrapnel that had been pulled out of him. Apparently there were more of them still inside him. Heading for his heart. The man continues. “I’ve seen many wounds like that in my village. We call them the walking dead, because it takes about a week for the barbs to reach the vital organs.”</p>
<p>“What is this?” Tony asks, referring to the device.</p>
<p>“That is an electromagnet, hooked up to a car battery, and it’s keeping the shrapnel from entering your heart.” The man replies swiftly, ending with a small smile and nod. Tony zips up the jacket, done looking at the electromagnet for now. He looks around the room once more, less frantically than last time, and eyes the camera in the corner of the room. The man turns to follow his gaze before nodding again. “That’s right. Smile.” He pauses for a moment. “We met once, you know, at a technical conference in Bern.”</p>
<p>“I don’t remember.” Tony mumbles. Mind still struggling to take all of the information in. </p>
<p>“No, you wouldn’t. If I had been that drunk, I wouldn’t have been able to stand, much less give a lecture on integrated circuits.”</p>
<p>Tony cuts off the man’s attempt at humor. “Was there anyone else brought here?” If this man had worked on him, maybe he had worked on her too. She had definitely been injured. Tony’s fists clench at the thought.</p>
<p>The man shakes his head. “Not that I know of. You were the only one brought to me for medical treatment.” Meaning she was either dead or, hopefully, left behind to be found by soldiers. Tony desperately wanted for it to be the latter. </p>
<p>“Where are we?” Next order of business was to find out their location. But before the man could answer, there’s a loud clang at the door followed by a man yelling in Arabic. The man borderline frantically moves to Tony’s side, whispering and making a get up motion.</p>
<p>“Come on, stand up. Stand up!” He grabs Tony’s arm to pull him up and look him in the eyes. “Just do as I do.” He pulls Tony away from the bed some while pushing one of his arms up. “Come on, put your hands up.” Tony puts his hands up and behind his head just as the door opens and men walk in- <i>carrying Stark Industries guns.</i></p>
<p>“Those are my guns. How did they get my guns?” He mumbles to the man beside him. Mind reeling, trying to figure things out. </p>
<p>The man turns to look at him harshly and ignores his question. “Do you understand me? Do as I do.”</p>
<p>The man in front, stout with a thick beard, starts what appears to be a grand speech according to his hand gestures. One Tony doesn’t understand a word of except for his name. The man ends his speech and gestures to the man beside Tony. He translates. “He says ‘Welcome, Tony Stark, the most famous mass murderer in the history of America’” Tony stares at the man in front of him as he speaks again. It’s translated once more for Tony. “He is honored.” Another pause as the man speaks again. “He wants you to build the missile.” The words send a chill down Tony’s spine. “The Jericho missile that you demonstrated. This one.” He holds out a picture of the Jericho. As if Tony didn’t already know what he was talking about.</p>
<p>Tony thinks for a few moments. He knows he can’t build it. He can’t give terrorists something as powerful as that. It’s bad enough they have his guns. He can’t let them win. Not after what they did to Ace. He still doesn’t know if she’s here, or <i>even alive.</i> The thought fuels him with determination and anger. He steels his resolve. “I refuse.”</p>
<p>The man in charge looks between Tony and his companion with a look of slight shock. One that quickly turns to anger. He orders something out before Tony is roughly grabbed, someone taking hold of the car battery as well, and dragged along. He eventually gets dropped onto his knees in front of a tub filled with water. The realisation about what’s about to happen dawns a little too late.</p>
<p>Someone grabs the back of his head and shoves him into the water. Holding him there as he struggles in vain. He’s held in the water until he runs out of breath, involuntarily taking in a small breath of water, then he’s yanked up. He spits and coughs water out and barely gets a breath in before he’s shoved back under. This is repeated once more before he starts to get light headed.</p>
<p>Somewhere in his mind he hears Ace’s voice calling for him. It urges him to stay strong, to fight the growing need to let unconsciousness take over. He had to make it back to her. Had to see her again. He’s yanked from the water a final time, weak but still fighting. He’s pulled to his feet and barely manages to grasp the battery when it’s shoved into his wet arms. A tweed bag is shoved over his head and then they’re off once again. He’s quickly pushed and pulled forward, being led somewhere. He’s able to barely see through the bag and watches as the light grows brighter. </p>
<p>The bag is suddenly pulled from his head. The sun blinds him for a moment before his eyes focus on the mass of crates surrounding him. Familiar crates. He stumbles as he’s pushed down the path, in shock at the amount of <i>their weapons</i> these terrorists have. <i>How?</i> </p>
<p>He stares at case after case with his name staring right back at him as he walks along. He doesn’t stop until he comes face to face to the man from before. The one who wanted him to build the Jericho. He speaks before it’s once again translated. The older man he first met had been dragged along as well it seems. “He wants to know what you think.”</p>
<p>Tony stares the man down. “I think you got a lot of my weapons.” That was really the only thought running through his mind at the moment, along with how they got ahold of them in the first place. </p>
<p>The man speaks again as he gestures to everything surrounding their little group. Tony turns to the older man for the translation.  “He says they have everything you need to build the Jericho missile. He wants you to make a list of materials.” Once the translation is complete he speaks again. “He says for you to start working immediately, and when you’re done, he will set you free.”</p>
<p>The man tilts his head in a <i> well, deal?</i> motion and holds his hand out for Tony to shake. Tony takes his hand with a fake smile. “No, he won’t.” He wasn’t going to follow through on his end of the deal either. He wasn’t going to build them the Jericho. </p>
<p>“No, he won’t.” The older man confirms with a nod and fake smile as well. The man still holding Tony’s hand in a shake gives a bright smile. Pleased and thinking he got his way.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Did anyone think Tony was gonna wake up and see Ace there with him? Do you think she was kidnapped too, but held somewhere else? Or was she left behind for the surviving soldiers to find her?</p>
<p>We won't find out what happened to her until tomorrow's chapter! ;)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0029"><h2>29. Chapter 29</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ace wakes up.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The first sensation to come to you was pain. Immense pain. Your left leg is radiating it, along with your head. The continuous beeping in your ears threatened to split it open. Over the wretched beeping you hear a sniffle somewhere off to the side. The sound makes you crack your eyes open, regretting it as you’re blinded by the bright lights. It sends another spike of pain through your head. You groan and move your arm over your eyes. The action draws the attention of whoever is next to you. You hear them stand up quickly before you feel a hand on your arm and a call of your name. “Oh my God! You’re awake!” That was not a voice you were expecting.</p>
<p>You raise your arm slightly to see Pepper standing there with red eyes and slightly messy hair. “Pep-” Your voice dies as the dryness of your throat catches up to you. She clues in on it and rushes to grab a cup of water. She disappears from your vision for a mere second before returning, holding a straw to your mouth. You greedily drink the water. Once you’ve had your fill you release the straw and try talking again. “What happened?” You had no clue as to how you got here- where even was here? Why were you in so much pain? <i>Where was Tony?</i></p>
<p>She sniffles again, fresh tears filling her eyes. “There was an attack in Afghanistan…” Her voice fades away as the memories rush through you. The demonstration. Riding in the humvee. Laughing with the soldiers. An explosion. Watching soldiers die. Running for cover. A <i>Stark Industries</i> missile. Hitting the ground. <i><b>Tony.</b></i></p>
<p>“Tony! Is he ok?” You sit up and a flash of white hot pain strikes your skull. You bring your hand up to hold your head.  “T-there was a missile- he took the blast- <i><b>Where is he?</b></i>” Worry started to pound against your heart in sync with the pounding in your head. Tony had to of been injured in that blast. Was he somewhere in the hospital? How badly was he injured? </p>
<p>Pepper’s hands find their way to your shoulders, easing you back onto the bed. “I need you to calm down. You have a very severe concussion.” That explains the pain in your head. “Don’t get too worked up, alright?” She then rubs your shoulders in a soothing manner. “I need you to keep calm when I tell you this, ok?” Accompanied by another sniffle. That’s when you register the steady stream of <i>heartache</i> coming from her. This couldn’t be good.</p>
<p>When you nod- despite the growing pain and worry in your chest- she continues. “Tony was kidnapped.” </p>
<p>You don’t hear anything else as a wave of nausea washes over you as the words sink in. You lean over the edge of your bed- somehow coherent enough to lean away from Pepper- and heave. Nothing but stomach acid comes out, burning your throat on it’s way. She rubs your back and holds your hair as you continue to dry heave once there’s absolutely nothing left. When you finally manage to stop you turn back to her. She doesn’t say anything, just pulls you into her arms. You sob into her stomach as she holds you tight. Until she breaks too. You both turn into sobbing messes, holding to one another. Acting as the other’s anchor.</p>
<p>It takes a <i>long</i> time for you to calm down- at least on the outside, inside you were absolutely devastated- enough that you’re able to pull away. You can’t break down completely just yet. You have to pull yourself together. Even if you just want to crawl into a hole and never come out.</p>
<p>After gathering yourself you look down at your leg, a major source of pain, to see it in a cast from your mid-thigh to your foot. Pepper notices your gaze and attempts to explain. “Your kneecap was shattered. There was a lot of shrapnel in your leg too, it took an extensive surgery to remove it all. The doctors said you’ll need an additional surgery for your knee. They didn’t want to do it until you woke up. Didn’t want you under too long so they could see how bad your concussion really is.”</p>
<p>You nod, in a sort of dazed fog, as you listen. “How long was I out?” She had seemed shocked that you’d awoken. Just how long had you been here, asleep? While Tony was with God knows who suffering God knows what? He could be going through what you did for all you knew. How long has it been since he’d been taken? How much time have you lost in getting him back? </p>
<p>“A little over two weeks.” You close your eyes and lean your head back. Two weeks you could have been looking for Tony. Instead you were laying here, <i>useless</i>, as always. She gives your shoulder a squeeze. “You were transferred here when you were stable enough. Happy and I knew you shouldn’t be alone when you woke up. We’ve been taking shifts.” Obviously trying to comfort you. Knowing how hard Tony being kidnapped hit you. Knowing <i>you</i> of all people understood what he was most likely going through. Understood how important it was to find him as quick as possible. </p>
<p>“What about Rhodey?” The thought hits you like a train. You’d nearly forgotten he’d been there after finding out about Tony. You had to know he was ok. You couldn’t lose both of your best friends. </p>
<p>“He’s fine.” You let out a big sigh of relief. Knowing he’s ok eased you a tiny amount. “He’s actually heading the search for Tony.” Good. Rhodey will find him. He wouldn’t stop until he did. Much like you.</p>
<p>Yet while he was out working, you were stuck in this bed. <b>Useless and weak.</b> <i>Why couldn’t you have been taken instead?</i></p><hr/>
<p>You ended up having the reconstructive surgery for your knee the next day, after an extensive evaluation for your concussion. You were itching to get to work on looking for Tony, so you had been rushing things along more than you probably should have. The doctors had wanted you to wait on the surgery a few more days. They wanted the previous surgery to remove the shrapnel to be healed a little more before they dove right back in, but you were having none of it. The surgery went off without a hitch. Next step was a cast for four weeks, then an intense leg brace for six weeks, then you could start physical therapy. It was going to be a long road to recovery. </p>
<p>Happy and Pepper took shifts staying with you, one always there. Even offered to stay with you in the mansion for a bit- considering you won’t be able to even put weight on your knee for a month. But you declined the offer. You could take care of yourself. You appreciated their presence, but found yourself mostly sitting in silence. Lost in your thoughts. Thinking of ways you could help in the search for Tony. Wondering how in the hell terrorists got ahold of your weapons. </p>
<p>That had to be dealt with. Terrorists having Stark industries weapons wasn’t supposed to be possible. Yet somehow it was. You’d seen it with your own eyes. Felt it with your own body. This is why you never involved yourself in weapon manufacturing in the past, afraid it would get into the wrong hands. Now that fear had come true. And your hands were covered in blood because of it. </p>
<p>You were able to leave the hospital two days after your surgery. You opted for crutches rather than a wheelchair. They’re easier in the long run. Especially when you could hold yourself up like you were a feather. The doctors had been heavily against allowing crutches with your concussion, considering you were experiencing waves of dizziness and constant migraines, but had stopped insisting when you told them you’d just switch when you got home anyways.</p>
<p>That was how you found yourself sliding down the stairs to the workshop on your butt. Hopping had been too painful and dangerous. A very <i>nervous</i> Pepper was following you down with your crutches in hand, rambling about how you shouldn’t be doing it. But as you reached the bottom and stood up using the wall for assistance, happily taking the crutches from her, she quieted. You looked up at her to see her staring past the glass into the empty garage. A steady stream of <i>heartache</i>- no <i><b>heartbreak</b></i> coming from her.</p>
<p>That was the moment you really realized two things. One: You weren’t the only one suffering from his absence. You couldn’t push them away, they needed you to be strong right now. Two: Pepper has <i>feelings</i> for Tony. More than the boss-employee friendship. Deeper than that. And what a startling realization that was.</p>
<p>You lean heavily on your crutches so you can reach a hand out. You place it on her shoulder and give her a comforting squeeze. Letting her know you <i>understand.</i> Her heartbreak was a shared feeling. “We’ll find him. He’ll come home.” Promising this. You didn’t know what would happen if he didn’t come home. It just wasn’t an option.</p>
<p>She gives a shaky nod before entering her code into the keypad, opening the door for you. You say a small “Thanks” as you hobble into the workshop, heading straight to the computers. She shuts the door behind you and heads back upstairs. Leaving you alone for the first time since you woke up. </p>
<p>You have the overwhelming urge to just break down. Throw things, pound your fist into the floor as hard as you can, crush things, cry, scream. But you can’t. <b>You can’t be weak right now.</b> Everyone needs you to be strong. You shake away your thoughts as you settle into a chair. You can break down later. For now, it was time to get down to business. But first… “JARVIS, call Rhodey.” You had to check in with him.</p>
<p><i>“I’m so sorry.”</i> The first words out of his mouth break your heart. But not more than the tired, broken voice he used to say them. You have to blink back the tears before you speak.</p>
<p>“Don’t apologize… How are you?” He has nothing to apologize for. None of this is his fault.</p>
<p>He sighs heavily into the phone. <i>“I’m ok. How are you holding up?”</i></p>
<p>“Could be better.” A little honesty wouldn’t hurt. He’d see through your bullshit anyways. “Don’t be pushing yourself too hard, Rhodey.”</p>
<p>He huffs out a sad laugh. <i>“You’re the one who just woke up from a two week coma. Don’t worry about me, I’m fine… I just want to find him.”</i></p>
<p>“You will. I believe in you. I wouldn’t trust anyone else to be out there looking.”</p>
<p><i>“Yeah…”</i> You hear someone talking in the background. <i>“Look, I have to go. I’ll keep you updated, ok?”</i></p>
<p>“Alright. Be safe.” You honestly didn’t want to hang up, so far he’s the only one who managed to make you feel at least a little calm. Your mind had been running nonstop since you woke up. Guilt has been hovering over you like a storm cloud too, along with the utter devastation that made you want to give in. </p>
<p><i>“I will.”</i> Just as you’re about to have JARVIS hang up he stops you with a soft call of your name. <i>“I love you. Take care of yourself.”</i></p>
<p>You smile, the first one since you’d woken up in the hospital. “I love you too, Rhodey Toady.” You know you both mean it in a completely platonic sense. He was like an older brother to you. What happened must have shaken him up quite a bit for him to be so openly affectionate. He usually stuck to fond teasing rather than outright words of affection. You hear the soft click indicating he’d hung up and drop your head onto the desk. Your head was killing you and all you wanted to do was sleep and cry, but there was work to do. You’d have time for that after Tony is found.</p>
<p>“JARVIS, you still have that program Tony set up to search for me when I was in Afghanistan?” Asking with your face still pressed against the table beneath you. He probably had it stored somewhere. Just in case. </p>
<p>“Yes, ma’am. Would you like me to change the parameters to begin searching for Mr. Stark?” Already one step ahead of you it seems. He probably missed Tony as much as you did, if a program could at least. If any could, it’d be JARVIS. </p>
<p>“Yes, please. Also download the shipping manifests for Stark Industries please.” You needed to look into that. While finding Tony of course. That was infinitely more important. </p>
<p>After only a moment's hesitation. “I have stored them in your private server.” </p>
<p>“Thank you, J.” You raise your aching head and stare at the screens with slightly blurry vision. It’s difficult for you to focus on the screens, they make your head hurt even more than it already did. It’s silent for a bit as you search through any relative pings JARVIS finds for you before he speaks up. </p>
<p>“I’m glad you’re ok, ma’am.” Electronic voice somehow sounding the most genuine you’ve ever heard it. </p>
<p>You offer a small smile knowing he’d pick it up on his sensors. You weren’t exactly ok, far from it in fact. But the sentiment was nice. “Thank you, J.” You pause, wondering if you should try comforting a program. To hell with it. “Tony will be back before you know it.” You’d make sure of it.</p>
<p>“I have no doubt of that fact.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Boom! Anti-climatic as hell. It was probably heavily expected for Ace to be kidnapped in some way as well, but no. She's at home while Tony is in that cave. I wonder how pushing down everything in order to look for him will go for her? It'll be completely fine. Totally.</p>
<p>I also wonder how Pepper having feelings for Tony is gonna play into things... ;)</p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0030"><h2>30. Chapter 30</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Obi pops in on Ace for a "check-up".</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You lose track of time as you bury yourself in work. Reviewing anything and everything JARVIS finds as well as reading shipping manifests in between. Nothing on either investigation yet. No ransom demands. No pictures or videos of Tony. Nothing suspicious on the few manifests you’d gotten through. Maybe you could ask Obi to look into weapon distribution. Make sure they’re headed where they’re supposed to be. In the meantime, you decided to completely pull yourself away from the weapons side of the business. You could go back to working completely in the medical division.  After what you’d seen, you were done with them forever. You can’t be responsible for more innocent people dying. Maybe you’d talk with Tony when he came back about completely stopping the manufacture of weapons. Obi wouldn’t even consider it, the man was too greedy.  It’d be a longshot, but if Tony had seen what you saw written on that missile… he might be inclined to agree.</p>
<p>Pepper never did come back down, leaving you to work alone. You were glad of that, it meant no distractions. You had to find Tony. The lack of his laughter ringing through the room saddened you more than anything else ever had. You had gotten so used to always <i>feeling</i> his presence. Without him here you felt empty. The only thing that managed to distract you is Happy, of all people, coming into the workshop. You look up at him as he approaches. “Hey, wanna grab some lunch?” Lunch? You had just eaten lunch a little while ago. You had grabbed some pizza on your way home from the hospital. He was there for that...</p>
<p>“I ate lunch on the ride home.” Reminding him. </p>
<p>He looks at you with a look of disbelief, <i>worry</i> seeping through the seams. “That was yesterday…” You’re barely able to hide your own shock at this. He starts to really scrutinize you then. Eyes narrowed as they roam your face. “Have you been locked in here since you got home?”</p>
<p>“Maybe.” Shrugging nonchalantly as you say this. The fact you had lost an entire day to a foggy work session worried you some. That wasn’t like you. And with this concussion you really needed to be resting. The increase in pain and blurred vision definitely indicated that. The only sleep you’d gotten so far was when you were knocked out for surgery. But, Food sounded good now that you thought about it. Food then sleep.  “Lunch sounds good, Hap.”</p>
<p>You slowly get up, getting hit by a small wave of dizziness when you do, and grab your crutches and make your way to where Happy is standing by the stairs. He eyes you then the stairs. “You need help?” </p>
<p>“I’m good, but thank you.” You had yet to attempt going up the steps, but it’d just be reverse butt sliding up. “I might look a little ridiculous though.” You attempt a smile for him, hoping to cheer up the <i>sadness</i> and lessen the <i>worry</i> in him. Tony is one of his best friends too, even if he tried to deny it. You have to be strong for everyone, not just yourself. He couldn’t be worrying about you right now. He gives a small smile back and watches as you sit down on the bottom step, handing him the crutches as you do so. “I actually do need your help. Can you carry these up for me?” You could do it yourself, but the little <i>happiness</i> blooming from being able to help you made you want to smile more.</p>
<p>You sit on the steps and lift yourself up each step until you reach the top. Indeed looking absolutely ridiculous. Happy’s little amused smirk is worth the slight embarrassment. But you couldn’t wait until you could walk again. You had only had to do this twice now, but well… butt scooching up and down the stairs wasn’t ideal. Nor was it fun. Why couldn’t you have gotten enhanced healing with everything else?</p>
<p>After Happy pulls you to your feet, well singular foot, the two of you head to lunch.</p><hr/>
<p>Lunch was nice. Happy had taken you to Olive Garden, but the two of you had sat out in the car to eat. You couldn’t go anywhere public without an absolute swarm of media attacking you. All wanting to know what happened. Your thoughts about Tony. Asking about Tony’s kidnapping. What Stark Industries was going to do without him. If Obadiah was taking over. All things you didn’t want to talk about. Some of which you <i>couldn’t</i> talk about. At least without wanting to break down. So, yeah, eating in the car it was. It had provided a good distraction from the storm of emotions that had been brewing inside of you since you’d woken up in the hospital. </p>
<p>The lack of sleep was starting to catch up to you though, now that you had broken your streamlined concentration and fully realized how long you’d been awake. Add a stomach filled with warm food and you were ready to pass out in bed. That was the plan; sleep for a while then get back to looking for Tony and digging through Stark Industries’ records. </p>
<p>You and Happy pull up to the mansion to see a car in the driveway. Obi’s car. Great. No sleep now. He was one of the last people you wanted to see right now. Even if you did need to talk to him. Doesn’t mean you actually wanted to. You head inside with Happy following, expecting to find Obi waiting for you in the living room, but you’re surprised to see, well, no one. You furrow your brows and address the air. “JARVIS, where’s Obi?”</p>
<p>“Mr. Stane is currently in the workshop.” The workshop? He had no reason to be down there, especially without you or Tony there. Even when one of you were down there he tended to wait upstairs for you to meet him. You hobble to the stairs and, after handing Happy your crutches, make your way down the steps via butt scooch. You reach the bottom and pull yourself up using the wall.</p>
<p>You look into the workshop to see Obi digging through drawers, rummaging through them. Retrieving your crutches from Happy you key your code in and enter the workshop. Obi spins around at the sound of the door opening. The first thing you notice is the simmering <i>anger</i> resting beneath his surface when he looks at you. He smiles brightly and spreads his arms out wide as he approaches you. “Look at you up and about! You had me worried there for a second.” </p>
<p>When he reaches you he pulls you into a hug, one you barely reciprocate. His actions confuse you. Despite him hugging you, which he’s never done in private (well private except for Happy standing there), and seemingly happy appearance nothing about him <i>feels</i> happy. “Hey Obi, what are you doing here?”</p>
<p>“Thought I’d come by and check on you. See how you were doing.” You raise a brow at him, calling him out on his obvious bullshit, but he doesn’t relent. </p>
<p>“Why were you <i>down here</i>?” Now being a little more specific. </p>
<p>“I didn’t see you upstairs so I thought you might be down here. Thought I’d make it easier on you and come down to talk. But you weren’t here either.” Obviously lying, <i>deception</i> sweeping off of him. He obviously thought you hadn’t seen him going through the drawers. You’d just have to ask JARVIS about it when he left. For now, you just wanted him gone.</p>
<p>“Well, I appreciate you checking in. I’m fine.” You say this curtly, hoping he would get the hint and leave. He doesn’t.</p>
<p>“When do you think you’ll be getting back to work?” There it is. The real reason he was being nice to you. He wants you to get back to designing weapons for him. But you were done with that. For good.</p>
<p>“I’m done designing weapons.” You can feel his <i>shock</i> along with the rising of his <i>anger</i>. His face starts to get a little red as if he’s holding himself back. Even Happy looks uncomfortable with the way he reacts, stepping a little closer up behind you.</p>
<p>“What do you mean <b>you’re done?</b>”  He takes a step closer to you, towering over you. Trying to intimidate you… and it was working. Despite knowing that you could punch a hole through him. Despite having the ability to fling him across the room with a mere flick of your hand. You found yourself cowering away from him a bit. He had always intimidated you for some reason. It was pathetic on your part.</p>
<p>“I-I’m not gonna be designing weapons anymore... I saw something over there, Obi.” Gaining a little more courage and confidence as you speak you lean forward a bit, no longer cowering. “The bomb that blew Tony and I up was Stark Industries…” You look him in the eyes. “Terrorists had our weapons, Obi. I can’t be making more if they can get ahold of them like that. I can’t let more innocent people die.” Too many soldiers had been killed that day. By the weapons you made.</p>
<p>You expected to feel both parties be <i>surprised</i> by your revelation. But only Happy seemed to be. Obi had no reaction, except for the rising of that same simmering anger that he’s kept hidden for the most part. But you sense it’s about you, not the weapons. Terrorists having weapons meant for the American Army was a huge deal, yet he seemed completely unphased. <i>Why?</i></p>
<p>He places his hand on your shoulder and squeezes it a tad too tightly. Trying to instill a sense of power over you. You hold strong though. You could do much more damage than he can if you had the mind to. “You’re gonna let one instance stop you from blowing the rest of them up?”</p>
<p>He was trying to manipulate you into continuing to make weapons now. You reach up and wrap your hand around his wrist, <i>tightly.</i> He visibly winces and withdraws his hand from your shoulder. “I don’t think it’s one instance. We need to look into it. We need to find out how they got-”</p>
<p>“We don’t need to do that. They probably intercepted a shipment overseas. That’s not our problem.” He cuts you off. “We just make the weapons. If the military can’t keep up with them, that’s on them.”</p>
<p>You look at him in disbelief. He truly didn’t care. “How can you say that? Those weapons were used to <i><b>murder</b> innocent people!</i> Weapons <i>we made.</i> How is that not our problem?”</p>
<p>He sighs and stands after giving you a long look. Completely ignoring your question, he moves to leave. “You should take time off. I’ll give you a few months of medical leave. That way you can really think this through.”</p>
<p>“I’m not gonna change my mind.” Adamant about this. No matter how much you thought about it, it wasn’t going to change the outcome. Not even Tony could change your mind.</p>
<p>“Just think about it.” He turns to look at you. His face softens a bit, looking almost sad. Another facade. “It’ll be good for you anyways. With everything you’re going through, you shouldn’t be worrying about work. Rest up.” He turns away again, walking to the stairs. Before he exits the workshop completely he turns to look at you again. Something unrecognizable in his eyes. “You know, you’re <i>very lucky</i> to be alive. Might not be as lucky in the future.” </p>
<p>His words send a chill down your spine. What does he mean by that? You watch him disappear up the steps. A hand lands on your shoulder making you jump a bit. You spin around as well as you can on crutches to see Happy standing there. A mixture of <i>confusion, concern,</i> and a little <i>anger</i> swirling in him. You had completely forgotten he was here the whole time. “You ok?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m fine.” You were more confused by the whole interaction than anything. Angry too. How could he not care that your weapons were in the wrong hands? Now it seems like he’s just locking you out, using medical leave as an excuse. He obviously doesn’t want you working unless it’s to build weapons for him. You lean more heavily onto your crutches as a wave of exhaustion crashes into you. “I’m tired. I’m gonna go to bed.”</p>
<p>Happy nods and stays close to you, again holding your crutches when going up steps, as you make your way to your bedroom. After a hug, he leaves. Despite needing a shower, pretty desperately at this point if you’re being honest, you climb into bed. Too tired to do anything except succumb to sleep.</p><hr/>
<p>You’re blown back by a fiery explosion and land harshly on your back. You groan as pain travels through your body. You hear a similar groan of pain next to you followed by heavily labored breathing. You turn your head to see Tony laying near you. You force yourself to sit up in a panic and drag yourself to him.</p>
<p>When you reach him tears come to your eyes. His body is filled with holes, all bleeding vigorously. He’s struggling to breathe and coughing up blood. You place your hands desperately against his chest, trying to hold any blood in you could. He looks up at you with terror in his eyes. One of his hands weakly raises and wraps around your wrist, holding onto you for dear life. </p>
<p>Suddenly you’re hit by a familiar tingling before your body goes limp. Forrest and the other soldiers from the humvee come into your view, staring at you. All of them have ashy, pale skin with many holes in their bodies and emotionless eyes. They reach down and pick Tony up by his arms, ripping his hand from your wrist, and start dragging him away. Away from you. While you lay there watching. <i>Useless and weak.</i></p>
<p>You shoot up awake trying to catch your breath. But you can’t. Your chest feels like it’s being constricted, you can’t take any deep breaths. The images from your nightmare keep flashing in your mind. His body covered in holes. His blood pooling beneath him. His gasping. <i>His eyes.</i> That expression in his eyes had been too real. <b>Because it was real.</b> You had seen that exact look of terror before you lost consciousness. It somehow gets even harder for you to breathe, like you’re inhaling lungful after lungful of sludge.</p>
<p>“Ma’am-” The sudden voice in the room startles you so much you fall off of the bed. You land with a harsh thud on the floor, hitting your casted up knee in the process. The unfathomable pain it causes snaps you from your struggles. You draw in a huge gasp of pain that breaks the constricting feeling. “My apologies, I did not mean to startle you. I am detecting you are in distress. Would you like me to call Ms. Potts or Mr. Hogan?”</p>
<p>You swallow back the tears to speak through the pain. “N-no JARVIS. I’m fine. Don’t call anyone.” You roll to lay on your stomach and bury your head into your arms. No one would be able to comfort you. No one except the one person who can’t be there. The one person you need more than anyone else. <i><b>Tony.</b></i> That’s where you finally break. The tears roll down your cheeks. The immense grief, guilt, pain, and fear you’d been harboring for days now pours out of you in painful sobs.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Happy is worried about Ace. Obi is an evasive asshole. Ace is struggling. What a fun time everyone is having.</p>
<p>I feel like I struggled to make this chapter flow good. It almost feels choppy in a sense. Thoughts?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0031"><h2>31. Chapter 31</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tony comes up with a plan to escape.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tony sits staring into the fire, seeking its warmth, deep in thought and feeling just a tad hopeless. He couldn’t build them the missile. He knew that. But, how was he supposed to escape? Why even bother when he was going to be dead in a week anyway? What’s the point? Either way, he won’t be able to see her again.</p>
<p>“I’m sure they’re looking for you, Stark. But they will never find you in these mountains.” His fellow prisoner breaks the silence, coming to sit beside him. “Look, what you just saw, that is your legacy, Stark.” He stares at him trying to convey the meaning behind his words as strongly as possible. “Your life’s work, in the hands of those <i>murderers.</i> Is that how you want to go out?” No, it’s not how he wants to go out. But what was he supposed to do?  “Is this the last act of defiance of <i>the great Tony Stark</i>? Or are you going to do something about it?”</p>
<p>Tony can’t hold in his thoughts any longer. Without looking at him still. “Why should I do anything? They’re going to kill me, you, either way. And if I don’t, I’ll probably be dead in a week.”</p>
<p>The man tilts his head a bit. “Well then, this is a very important week for you, isn’t it?”</p>
<p>For one reason or another, his words give Tony an idea. One that could work. One that could extend that week longer. One that could save them. One that could let him go home to- It fills him with a brand new sense of determination. He was going to attempt to make a miniaturized arc reactor. Now he just needed the materials.</p><hr/>
<p>A little while later, and after the man had flagged someone down from the camera to let them know he was ready to ‘build the missile’, Tony found himself surrounded by a swarm of terrorists. This time all working to get him what he needed. He listed things off in a rapid fashion, the man translating each word for him. “If this is going to be my work station, I want it well lit. I want these up.” Indicating to some lights someone was carrying. “I need welding gear. I don’t care if it’s acetylene or propane. I need a soldering station. I need helmets. I’m gonna need goggles. I would like a smelting cup. I need two sets of precision tools.”</p>
<p>When he was done listing things off, he directed them on where to put things. Positioning lights correctly, making sure things worked and making sure he got everything he listed. All the while thinking and planning how he was going to pull this off. If this worked, he’d never have to worry about powering the electromagnet in his chest. He wouldn’t have to worry about lugging a car battery around.</p>
<p>When everything finally settled and they were once again left alone, Tony set to work dismantling a missile. He needed to gut it in order to get what he needed. The man awkwardly stood there watching his movements carefully, taking the opportunity to learn how to dismantle them himself. To break the awkward air, Tony decided to make small talk. “How many languages do you speak?”</p>
<p>“A lot. But apparently not enough for this place.” Tony continued to dismantle the missile while he spoke, Somewhat glad the man seemed to be a chatterbox. Even if he was vague at times. “They speak Arabic, Urdu, Dari, Pashto, Mongolian, Farsi, Russian.” So an international organization? That spelled trouble.</p>
<p>“Who are these people?” Tony wanted to know who he’d be putting into the ground.</p>
<p>“They are your loyal customers, sir.” Tony stares at him, not liking that one bit. He never would have knowingly sold weapons to terrorists. “They call themselves the Ten Rings.”</p>
<p>The name sends a swell of anger down his spine. As well as a shred of fear. <i>These are the same bastards who kidnapped Ace. <b>What if they got ahold of her again?</b> What if they are experimenting on her like before?</i> He couldn’t think about that. She had to be safe. She had to have been found by someone else. She was waiting for him at home. </p>
<p>He drops the guts from the missile onto the table with a harsh thud. Barely keeping his cool. He really was going to put them six feet under now. Knowing who they were filled him with even more determination to get out of there. He directs his anger into the next missile, quickly unscrewing the radome.</p>
<p>“You know, we might be more productive if you include me in the planning process.” The man squats next to him, again watching him work.</p>
<p>“Uh-huh.” Tony still didn’t completely trust him. Even if he was a prisoner here with him. He slams his fist against the radome to separate it from the rest of the missile. He puts it aside and pulls out the targeting system and battery source. He takes a pair of precision pliers and pulls out the small piece of palladium from within the battery. “Ok, we don’t need this.” He tosses the rest of the system somewhere behind him.</p>
<p>“What is that?” The man asks curiously.</p>
<p>Tony holds up the palladium to show him. “That’s palladium, 0.15 grams. We need at least 1.6, so why don’t you go break down the other 11?” He decided to offer a small branch of trust, knowing he could do it since he had been watching and learning this whole time.</p>
<p>He moves away and begins to break down the missiles. Each time bringing the palladium to Tony for him to remove. While he does that, Tony begins to mold loose clay into a circular shape using a bowl and metal ring. He needed it to be as accurate as possible, he was going to use it to shape the palladium after melting it down.</p>
<p>Once he finishes shaping the mold, and the man finishes dismantling the missiles, Tony puts all of the palladium into a hardened clay cup to be smelted. He places it in the fire and waits, watching carefully to be sure not to overheat the palladium. Once it is properly melted, and not too hot, he gives the man the tongs. He couldn’t use both hands while having to carry the battery.</p>
<p>The man takes the tongs and carefully grabs the cup. He keeps his hands steady as he turns to walk back to the mold. Tony watches anxiously and hovers over his shoulder, car battery slung over his own shoulder. “Careful. Careful, we only get one shot at this.”</p>
<p>“Relax. I have steady hands.” The man remains completely calm. “Why do you think you’re still alive, huh?”</p>
<p>Tony places the battery on the table and leans forward to watch the man pour the palladium into the mold. The man did save his life, even if it wasn’t a practical solution. Tony was alive because of him. Yet he doesn’t know his name. “What do I call you?” </p>
<p>“My name is Yinsen.” Yinsen continues to pour the palladium, keeping his hands steady.</p>
<p>“Yinsen.” Testing the name out. “Nice to meet you.” Officially anyway.</p>
<p>Yinsen glances at him in amusement. “Nice to meet you, too.”</p>
<p>Tony goes to build the rest of what he needs as he waits for the palladium to cool. Its freezing point was lower than most metals, so it’d be a while. He builds the casing for the core in the time it takes for it to become fully solid again. Once the palladium cools, he carefully removes it from the mold and puts it into the casing. One thing done. </p>
<p>He moves on to the electrical components. He makes another ring of metal and solders wires into place in intermittent squares around the ring. When he finishes with the wiring, he puts everything together into the casing he made. The whole process took a couple of days to complete. But now it was ready to be powered up… if it worked. </p>
<p>He connects the arc reactor to a starter to initiate its power, so it can run on its own. He spins the starter, turning it on and boosting the power slowly. The arc reactor lights to life, emanating a blue glow. Tony stares down at it in a sense of awe as hope blossoms in his chest. He did it. They might be getting out of here yet.</p>
<p>Yinsen approaches his side and bends to look at the reactor. He whispers, seemingly in awe as well. “Woah. That doesn’t look like a Jericho missile.”</p>
<p>“That’s because it’s a miniaturized arc reactor. I got a big one powering my factory at home.” He taps it gently with a finger. “It should keep the shrapnel out of my heart.” Easily. </p>
<p>“But what could it generate?” Yinsen can tell it’s powerful, just by the look of it. Much more powerful than a car battery.</p>
<p>“If my math is right, and it always is, three gigajoules per second.” Tony mumbles out, still staring at the reactor. </p>
<p>“That could run your heart for 50 lifetimes.”</p>
<p>“Yeah. Or something big for 15 minutes.” At Tony’s words, Yinsen looks at him intrigued. Tony stands, grabbing his car battery in the process, and walks to another table turning the light on. ”Come here.” Yinsen follows him without question, stopping at his side. He picks up the frail papers on the table. Yinsen lays the papers down one at a time, studying each one. “This is our ticket out of here.”</p>
<p>“What is it?” Despite having the blueprints in his hands, Yinsen had no idea what Tony was creating.</p>
<p>“Flatten them out and look.” Tony flattens the papers to reveal a suit of armor. Each paper had a different part so no one else knew what he was building. But Tony trusts Yinsen. He has to if they want to leave here alive. They were in this together.</p>
<p>“Oh, <i>wow.</i>” Yinsen studies the design for a second before a small smile grows on his face. “Impressive.” </p>
<p>Tony nods. “Yeah. But first, we have to put the arc reactor in place of this.” He taps the device currently in his chest.</p>
<p>Yinsen examines it for a long second before looking at Tony. “I can do that.”</p>
<p>“I was sort of counting on that.” Tony smirks as he moves to grab the arc reactor, now completely powered by itself, and goes to his cot. He takes his jacket off and lays down. </p>
<p>Yinsen stands next to him, looking between the two devices. “What do you need me to do?”</p>
<p>“First, we need to pull this junky thing out.” He taps the old electromagnet in his chest again. “Then we are gonna disconnect the wires from it and hook the arc reactor up. When that’s all done, you’re gonna shove the arc reactor in its place. Easy, right?”</p>
<p>Yinsen gives an unsure nod. “Right.”</p>
<p>“Oh, and uh- try to do it pretty quick. Kinda don’t want my heart shredded anytime soon.”</p>
<p>This time Yinsen smirks, amused. “Relax. I won’t let you die.”</p>
<p>After undoing everything securing it in place and disconnecting the jumper cables, Tony pulls out the old electromagnet power supply. He disconnects the wires and lays it to the side. He then hands the arc reactor to Yinsen, who does exactly as Tony directs him. “You’re just gonna take that wire and hook it- yeah right there.” As the wire is attached a little jolt of electricity makes Tony jump. “Whew, that’s got quite the kick.”</p>
<p>Yinsen finishes all of the connections flawlessly. He gently puts the arc reactor into the old power supply’s housing and secures it. Tony stands up, sending the blue glow sprawling into the room. It was a success. The feeling of freedom comes to him then. It was such a relief to not be worrying about dying whenever the battery decided to run out of power. He didn’t have to watch how he moved anymore either. Now he was free to get the real work done. It was time to start building the suit.</p>
<p>He offers his hand up to Yinsen, giving him an appreciative shake. He looks him in the eyes as he speaks. “Let’s get to work.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This was kind of hard to write because all of the scenes jump so much. I had to think of transitions for each one lol. I think I did an ok job though.</p>
<p>So, now that Tony knows it's the Ten Rings, he's gonna try extra hard to get away, and cause as much harm as possible on the way. 'Cause fuck them. They hurt his Ace. Nobody does that and gets away with it.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0032"><h2>32. Chapter 32</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ace gets a couple of surprise visits.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Because of your painful tumble from bed, you ended up having to wear the cast for an additional two weeks. You had to spend a grand total of six weeks butt scooching up and down the steps, covering your leg with a garbage bag when you showered, and having to sit uncomfortably for hours on end. But now it was finally off. You still had to wear a hinged knee brace, one with an adjustable flexibility lock so you could lessen the rigidness needed as your knee heals more. You have to wear this brace for another six weeks, but at least you could do a weird sideways shuffle on the steps. It was painful to walk or stand for a long time, but you were on your way to recovery. Even your concussion has mostly healed. You still suffered from migraines, but the worst of it has passed.</p><p>You settle onto the couch overlooking the ocean with a heavy sigh. You had just gotten home from having your cast removed and needed to rest. You hadn’t been getting good sleep the last month and a half. It was plagued by nightmares that threw you from sleep with no mercy. It seemed that the shot you were given, which led to your empath ability, had either worn off or you were just <i>that</i> messed up that it wasn’t working. You wouldn’t be surprised if it was the latter. Tony’s kidnapping has hit you hard. You missed him desperately.</p><p>Nothing had come of your endless searching so far. Nor has Rhodey had any luck either. He called you as often as he could, sadly never with any updates. It was mainly to check on you, see how you were doing. To just talk. It was nice, and the two of you had grown even closer than before. When you first told him you were backing out of weapons, he tried to argue with you. But you held your ground, telling him what you saw. He understood then, and didn’t bring it back up, even if you could tell he sometimes wanted to. </p><p>Happy and Pepper still came by to check on you, one or the other every day. It had been Happy more often than not, Pepper was busier than ever with work. You had grown closer to him too. He always made sure you had eaten, helped you where he could, and was always there to take you wherever you needed to go. He had become your anchor during all of this. You had even told him about your nightmares, not every detail, but just enough so that he knew why you refused to sleep some days. He was trying his best to take care of you, something you appreciated immensely. You didn’t have the willpower to do it yourself right now. Even if you knew you should.</p><p>You had tried to continue your digging in Stark Industries’ records, but once Obi had placed you on medical leave your access was revoked. He had completely iced you out of Stark Industries. You tried to hack into the server, but hacking was not your strong suit. You were unable to compete with Tony’s advanced security measures. That quickly put a halt to your digging.</p><p>Everything was just so disheartening. You weren’t sleeping. You weren’t helping Rhodey. You weren’t working. You could barely move your knee. You were worrying Happy. You were just <i>useless and weak.</i> You were so close to giving up-</p><p>“Ma’am, there is a news report you may want to see.” Your self-loathing was interrupted by JARVIS’ gentle voice.</p><p>“Put it on.” Great. Just what you needed right now. You turn to face the TV as it turns on, the first thing you see is a picture of you and Tony.</p><p>“Many believe that the former Stark Industries’ employee, and supposed best friend of Tony Stark, orchestrated the plot for his kidnapping and demise. Since her own kidnapping five years ago, which resulted in her being held captive for three years, there has been speculation that during that time she was converted to the extremist beliefs of those responsible and now acts as a mole for them. Many are calling her a traitor of the country and are demanding her arrest.</p><p>It is rumored that she was fired from Stark Industries by acting CEO Obadiah Stane for her involvement in Stark’s kidnapping. We have reached out to Stark Industries for a response but have received nothing as of yet. We’ll return with more details after the break.”</p><p>You stare in disbelief at the screen throughout the report. <i>How could anyone believe that?</i> How could anyone think you’d do such a thing to your best friend? And <i>former</i> employee? You weren’t even fired! <i>Right?</i> Obi had said medical leave not-</p><p>Your thoughts are once again interrupted by JARVIS. “There are two men approaching the door. They appear to be from Homeland Security.” Sure enough, the doorbell rings just as JARVIS finishes speaking. Homeland security? Why would they be here? They couldn’t be believing the media, right?</p><p>You get up and limp to the door. You pull it open to reveal two men in suits standing there, one holding out his badge. “Agent Gibbs, Agent Carrol.” He indicates first to himself then to the man beside him. ”Homeland Security. We’d like to ask you a few questions. May we come in?”</p><p>You step to the side and open the door wider. “Sure. Come on in. Living room is off to the right, we can talk in there. Go on ahead.”</p><p>Despite your words, they wait for you to close the door and lead them to the living room. The entire time they’re looking around taking in the surroundings. You couldn’t blame them, it was very luxurious. Even you couldn’t believe it sometimes. Tony had outdone himself. You settle onto a couch as they settle on another one next to you. You prop your bad leg up on the coffee table and look at them. You grow a little tense under their gazes.  “What do you need to ask me?”</p><p>“We spoke to Obadiah Stane a few days ago. He said you had wanted to go with Mr. Stark to Afghanistan. Why is that?” That wasn’t really a question you were expecting. You had expected them to ask about what happened. Not why you went in the first place. Not to mention it was a flat-out lie. What the hell was Obi doing? Locking you out? Lying to federal agents? <i>Maybe they misunderstood him?</i></p><p>“I <i>didn’t</i> want to go. Obi wanted me to go. He said it would be good for company optics. Tony and I tried to argue with him- We both didn’t want me going. But, I eventually gave in. I hoped it would of brought me some closure.” Laying out the facts. Whether Obi had lied or they misunderstood them, this would correct them.</p><p>“So, you’re saying Mr. Stane is lying?” Agent Gibbs raises an eyebrow at you before glancing at his partner. “Convenient how the one person who could confirm your story is missing. Wouldn’t you say?” You could feel the <i>doubt</i> in both of them. They didn’t believe you. They genuinely thought you had something to do with Tony’s kidnapping. </p><p>“It’s not a <i>story</i>, it’s the truth.” Getting a tad angry now. They were just discounting you entirely. You were about to continue to argue when the doorbell goes off again. No forewarning from JARVIS this time. That must mean it was Happy or Pepper, but why didn’t they just let themselves in? “Excuse me, I have to get that.” </p><p>You get up to go answer the door but stop in your tracks when you turn to see Agent Coulson standing there, having let himself in apparently. Did JARVIS recognize him somehow and let him in? You stare at him in a mixture of shock and relief. You hadn’t seen him since the seizure incident. For some reason you knew he was here because of the Homeland agents, you knew he’d clear this up. He turns to the two men, both now standing.</p><p>“Gentlemen, may I speak to you for a moment?” They look at each other confused before nodding and walking over to him. You watch as they speak for a few moments, heads bent and voices too low to hear. Eventually the two men nod again and turn back to you.</p><p>“We apologize for disturbing you, ma’am. We’ll be leaving now.” You’re a little shocked by how quickly Coulson got them to back down. Shocked but grateful. </p><p>You watch them leave before you look back at Coulson. “What’d you say to them?”</p><p>“The truth.” He moves to sit on the couch they had vacated. You sit back down as well. When you look at him for more of an explanation he continues. “That you’re not a terrorist.” </p><p>“And they just believed you?” They had left so easily. Did Coulson have that much power?</p><p>“I can be very persuasive.” He settles a scrutinizing stare onto you. “How are you?” You can feel his <i>concern</i> for you. You ease in his presence, his underlying <i>calm</i> helping to relax you. You feel comfortable around him, knowing he actually cares. Even after the seizure incident, you trust him. He hadn’t meant to harm you.</p><p>“I’m ok.” Quickly grazing over that question. You certainly weren’t ok. “It’s been a while since we last spoke.” Over a year. You know he called sometime after the seizure to check in on you, but Tony had taken the call. You hadn’t heard from him since. </p><p>“I’ve been busy.” Vague and distant.</p><p>“Well, I appreciate you making some time now.” You say this warmly with a smile. It was obvious he came rushing to help you. Someone he barely knew, had only talked to a few times. For what reason? You couldn’t say.</p><p>“It’s the least I could do.” A little guilt bubbles up then. Did he feel like he had to make up for giving you that shot? </p><p>“It wasn’t your fault, you know. You couldn’t have known that I’d have a seizure. Besides, it did end up helping.” You hoped this would ease his guilt some, knowing that despite the initial reaction it had still helped you. Your nightmares had significantly decreased… well until recently that is.</p><p>“I’m glad it helped.” He checks his watch and stands. “I have to go now. You need anything, call me.” He pulls a card from his pocket and hands it to you.</p><p>You stand up and offer your hand. “Thank you.”</p><p>He gives you a nice hard shake and a small smile. “Anytime.” He turns and leaves without another word, letting himself out just like he did on the way in. </p><p>You fall back down onto the couch, truly exhausted now. Where had all of this come from? There had been some people since you’d gotten home accusing you of working with terrorists… but for it to be on a popular news station? That was concerning. Then the agents? Someone must have told someone something that led people to believe you’re a traitor, that you’d betray Tony like that.</p><p>You hear the door open and close before a voice starts calling your name. Happy. You sigh heavily and stay where you are. It would be nice to have been left alone. He comes around the corner and spots you laying on the couch. “Hey, I just saw the news. You ok?”</p><p>“I’m ok, Happy.” You lean your head back so you could look at him standing behind you still. “Homeland just came by though.”</p><p>He moves towards you. You sit up and he sits down behind you. You lean back down and put your head on his thigh. He looks down at you. “Homeland came? What’d they want?”</p><p>“Asked me why I <i>wanted</i> to go to Afghanistan.” You say this in a heavily annoyed tone. His brows furrow. <i>Confusion</i> taking hold of him. </p><p>“You didn’t want to go though.”</p><p>“Apparently Obi said something different.”</p><p>His <i>surprise</i> at this was expected. It had surprised you too. “Stane? Really?” </p><p>“Mhmm. Agent Coulson popped in to get them off my back.” You had no doubt that if he hadn’t shown up when he did, you’d have been dragged to an interrogation room at the very least. Arrested at the most.</p><p>“Agent Coulson? He’s the one from the Strategic Homeland Intervention- uh whatever the rest is, right?” Happy didn’t know everything about your involvement with Coulson. He didn’t know you had met more than once. You nod. “Why’d he come?”</p><p>“I think he heard through the grapevine I was in trouble. Probably saved me a lot of hassle. They might have toted me off if it wasn’t for him.”</p><p>“I wouldn’t have let them take you away.” <i>Protectiveness</i> flares in him then. Ever since Tony had been kidnapped, Happy had been extra protective of you. It was like he felt the need to protect you for Tony. Even if you didn’t need protecting. It was sweet. </p><p>“I know.” You give him a bright smile. “That’s why you’re the best security guard.” His returning smile is even brighter than yours.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Wonder who cooked up the rumors about Ace working with terrorists? Couldn't have been Obadiah... Yeah, it totally was. Dude is a bastard :)</p><p>Poor Ace is so confused and overwhelmed by everything.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0033"><h2>33. Chapter 33</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tony and Yinsen build the suit.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After a hard day’s work, Tony and Yinsen unwind by playing backgammon. They had spent the day creating various parts of the suit, smelting and shaping different pieces of the armor, welding parts together, and creating electric circuits they needed. While Tony worked, Yinsen had hand-made the board and dice during breaks, and they used washers and nuts from disassembled missiles as the pieces. Tony picks up the dice and puts them in a smelting cup he had commandeered for the game, shaking them then dumping them onto the board. </p>
<p>“Good Roll. Good Roll.” Yinsen takes the dice to roll next.</p>
<p>“You still haven’t told me where you’re from.” Tony says while checking his tea that he was steeping using a sock. Not exactly sanitary, but it was all they had. </p>
<p>“I’m from a small town called Gulmira.” Yinsen rolls the dice. “It’s actually a nice place.” </p>
<p>“Got a family?”</p>
<p>“Yes, and I will see them when I leave here. And you, Stark?”</p>
<p>Tony looks up at him. His mind immediately goes to Ace, Rhodey, Pepper, and Happy. But as much as he cared for them, they weren’t truly family. His family died a long time ago. He gives a quick sad shake and barely gets the word out. “No.”</p>
<p>“No? So you’re a man who has everything... and nothing.” Yinsen’s words strike a chord in him. While he didn’t exactly have <i>nothing</i>, he didn’t have the one thing he wanted. Her. She was going to be the reason he makes it home. </p>
<p>“I don’t have nothing.” It was a weak protest, but one nonetheless. </p>
<p>“Oh?” </p>
<p>“I have a… friend.” It may not be what he wanted, but he still had her in his life. When he gets home, he is going to change their relationship. She was going to be there, safe and sound. She had to be. Being here has taught him what is important, taught him <i>who</i> is important. It was time to grow up and act on his feelings. Before it was too late.</p>
<p>“Tell me about her.” And so he did.</p><hr/>
<p>The suit was coming along great. Tony had managed to make a functional leg, made several more pieces of the armor, created the mechanics for a flamethrower attachment, filled some of the tanks to fuel the flamethrower, and was now working on another piece of the armor. </p>
<p>The flap on the door opens with a loud bang before someone shouts through it. Tony turns his welder off and takes off his goggles without hesitation. When the door opens he raises his hands above his head. Many men carrying guns enter the room, spreading out on either side. A man walks through the middle staring menacingly at them as he passes by. He comes to a stop a few feet in front of Tony, staring at him with a relaxed face but cold eyes. “Relax.” </p>
<p>He said the simple command so nonchalantly, as if there weren’t a million reasons to <i>not</i> relax. Tony puts his hands down slowly and hesitantly. Feeling like this might be a trick. The man steps closer to him, gently moving aside the collar of his shirt to look at the arc reactor in his chest. Tony remains as still as possible, even when he begins to speak.</p>
<p>“The bow and arrow once was the pinnacle of weapons technology.” He moves away from Tony, now walking towards the decoy Jericho missile Tony had set up. He had to make it seem like they were building it. “It allowed the great Genghis Khan to rule from the Pacific to the Ukraine.” He examines the decoy, picking up a piece of frayed wiring. He then turns to walk back towards Tony. “An empire twice the size of Alexander the Great and four times the size of the Roman Empire.”</p>
<p>Tony watches nervously as the man bends down to the table, picking up the papers with his plans on it. “But today, whoever holds the latest Stark weapons rules these lands.” Tony looks over to Yinsen, conveying his nervousness with his eyes. Yinsen moves his hand in a subtle <i>stay calm</i> motion. Tony turns back to the man, pleased to see him putting down the blueprints. He slowly turns to meet Tony’s eyes with a hard stare. “And soon, it will be my turn.”</p>
<p>He once again steps closer to Tony, staring at him in silence for a long few seconds. Tony stares back trying his best to hide the fear he felt. The man starts speaking to Yinsen, purposely in a foreign language so Tony can’t understand.  Urdu he thinks. “تم نے مجھے کیوں ناکام کیا؟” <i>(“Why have you failed me?”)</i></p>
<p>“ہم کام کر رہے ہیں۔ تندہی سے۔” <i>(“We’re working. Diligently.”)</i> Tony, despite not understanding a word, can hear the nervousness portrayed in Yinsen’s voice. In turn, it makes him even more nervous.</p>
<p>The man turns and starts to walk towards Yinsen. Malice plain as day in his voice. “میں تمہیں جینے دیتا ہوں۔” <i>(“I let you live.”)</i> He stops just in front of Yinsen. “اس طرح تم نے مجھے بدلہ دیا؟” <i>(“This is how you repay me?”)</i></p>
<p>“یہ بہت پیچیدہ ہے۔ وہ بہت کوشش کر رہا ہے۔" <i>(“It's very complex. He's trying very hard.”)</i> Yinsen replies, trying his best to remain calm. He wasn’t exactly exceeding at it.</p>
<p>The man barks something out. Two men come forward and force Yinsen onto his knees. He turns to the furnace chuckling as he grabs a pair of tongs and digs in the hot coals. “آآپ کو لگتا ہے کہ میں ایک بے وقوف ہوں؟ میں حقیقت حاصل کروں گا۔” <i>(“You think I’m a fool? I’ll get the truth.”)</i></p>
<p>“ہم دونوں کام کر رہے ہیں۔” <i>(“We’re both working.”)</i> The man turns back to face Yinsen, blowing on a lump of glowing red coal held in his tongs. Tony watches, his nervousness growing with each passing second. “پنا منہ کھول.” <i>(“Open your mouth.”)</i></p>
<p>The man approaches Yinsen, grabbing the top of his head. Tony finally can’t hold himself back from speaking. “What does he want?”</p>
<p>“آپ کو لگتا ہے کہ میں ایک بے وقوف ہوں؟” <i>(“You think I’m a fool?”)</i> Tony is completely ignored as the man directs Yinsen’s head to lay on the anvil. Tony barely holds himself back after realizing the man’s intentions. If Yinsen didn’t say what he wanted him to, he was going to burn him with the coal. “کیا ہو رہا ہے؟ مجھے سچ بتاو.” <i>(“what’s going on? Tell me the truth.”)</i></p>
<p>“وہ آپ کا جیریکو بنا رہا ہے۔” <i>(“He’s building your Jericho.”)</i> Yinsen, despite the threat of what would probably lead to him losing his tongue, held strong. The two men argue back and forth before Tony finally can’t stand it anymore. He can’t let Yinsen get hurt.</p>
<p>He takes a step forward “What do you want? A delivery date?” but quickly freezes as every gun turns to him. He raises his hands in defeat. He slowly lowers them once the men relax again. He looks at Yinsen, hoping he could save him. “I need him.” He looks back up at the man threateningly holding the coal still with a small shrug. Trying to make it appear as though he didn’t care too much. It would only be used against him. “Good assistant.”</p>
<p>The man drops the all too hot coal onto the anvil in front of Yinsen’s face. Tony lets out the breath he had been holding this whole time. “You have till tomorrow to assemble my missile.” He throws the tongs onto the ground before ordering everyone out. Neither Tony nor Yinsen move until the door shuts.</p>
<p>Once it does, Tony immediately goes to Yinsen’s side to pull him to his feet. “You ok?”</p>
<p>Yinsen nods a little jerkily. He was clearly shaken up. “Yes, I’m fine. Thank you.”</p>
<p>Tony shakes his head and pats him on the back. “I should be the one thanking you. You didn’t spill our plans after all.” Tony could only assume that was what the man had been demanding to know. Especially with how many times he had heard the word <i>Jericho</i> spoken between them. “But now we have work to do.” Yinsen nods grimly. They now only had 24 hours to finish the suit, or else they were dead.</p>
<p>They set off to work. Tony focuses on finishing the exterior armor- hammering, smelting, quenching, shaping the steel into each piece- while Yinsen focuses on the interior wiring. They had to split the jobs and completely trust the other in order to be done in time. After completing the rest of the armor, Tony makes the faceplate. The final piece. He sets it down in front of Yinsen, a symbol that a huge part of the suit was finished. Now they just had to finish the interior. </p>
<p>Tony grabs the old laptop they had been provided with and begins coding the startup sequence. The power from his arc reactor had to be dispersed throughout the suit before it could power up. The program was being written to initialize each major piece, such as an arm or leg, one at a time so as to not overload or fry the circuits. They had to be careful with the hastily put together suit.</p>
<p>When he finishes that, he moves on to helping Yinsen install the wiring into the suit pieces. They spread the pieces out on the floor, sitting beside them securing the wires into place. Yinsen decides to break the silence that had consumed them for hours. “What’s her name?”</p>
<p>Tony allows himself a small smile as he says her name. He missed the way it sounded. He truly hoped she would be there to greet him the second he got home.  “But I call her Ace.”</p>
<p>Yinsen glances at him curiously. “Why do you call her that?”</p>
<p>This time Tony’s smile is a little bigger. “Because she’s the best.” The best in every aspect in his eyes. Her laugh. Her smile. Her eyes. Her personality. Just <i>her.</i></p>
<p>Yinsen chuckles. “From what you told me, I have no doubt.” He looks up again, spying Tony’s smile. “You will go home and see her again soon.” Trying to be encouraging. </p>
<p>Tony nods, smile fading as a little blue takes hold of him. “Yeah. If she’s there.”</p>
<p>“What do you mean?”</p>
<p>“She was with me when I was taken...” Yinsen pauses in his work choosing to look at Tony instead. The pain in his voice makes his heart ache for him. “I don’t know if she was taken too, or if she died in the attack. I can only hope that she got to go home, that she’s safe. If she isn’t there…” Tony fades off unable, to complete the thought. </p>
<p>“She will be.” Yinsen says this firmly. Like a fact. Tony nods and gets back to focusing on his work. Distracting himself from his thoughts, now only focused on getting out of there. Escaping came first. Everything else came after that. He could think about her when he wasn’t under a time crunch. Right now he needed to stay concentrated. </p>
<p>Yinsen changes the subject, beginning to tell Tony the way out of the cave. The exact amount of steps so that he wouldn’t get lost. The plan was for Tony to clear the path for Yinsen, who would follow him out a few minutes behind him just to be safe. Everything had to go perfectly for this to work. The air was a little heavier now, filled with a sense of desperateness. They work through the night tirelessly. Minds filled with the knowledge that if they didn’t work fast enough, they would be dead tomorrow.</p><hr/>
<p>After the suit is finally finished, Tony quickly moves on to making a small bomb to place on the door. The bomb would provide a surprise attack that would disorient them enough so that Tony could begin his attack. It was also a good way to blow the door open causing damage at the same time. Something Tony was all for. </p>
<p>With the bomb in place and ready to be detonated when the door is opened next, Tony begins to tape his hands up as Yinsen prepares the suit to be put on. Yinsen helps him put his heavy welding jacket on and a protective strap around his neck before pulling his welding gloves on for him. The suit was going to be heavy and painful to wear. Not to mention all of the bullets that were going to be firing at him. He needed as much protection he could get.</p>
<p>Once covered as much as possible, he moves towards the suit. It was time to put it on. It was time to escape. <b>It was time to go home.</b></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>We're almost to Tony's escape! One or two (most likely one) more chapters with Ace before it happens. </p>
<p>It's so much harder for me to write the actual scenes from the movie rather than when writing completely original scenes. It's just easier for my creative juices to flow. You'd think with a template it would make it easier lol</p>
<p>Also, I'm gonna be editing chapters today to italicize any speech made from over a phone. So I apologize if you get any notifications about that.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0034"><h2>34. Chapter 34</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ace finds a clue to Tony's whereabouts.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>“Why did you have Tony Stark kidnapped?”</i>
</p>
<p>“I didn’t.”</p>
<p>
  <i>“Did you and Mr. Stark have a falling out?”</i>
</p>
<p>“Tony and I never fought. We have always gotten along.”</p>
<p>
  <i>“Why were you fired from Stark Industries after Stark’s disappearance?”</i>
</p>
<p>“I wasn’t. I’m on medical leave. Obadiah Stane released a statement earlier this month. Read it.”</p>
<p>You follow behind Happy as he pushes through the crowd. This had been a regular occurrence over the last month. Anytime you had to go anywhere, mainly only check-ups for your knee, you were swarmed by reporters. All asking questions rapid fire. At first you had ignored them, but the more you ignored them the harder they pushed. The worst the stories got. The harsher the accusations. You had to start pushing back. You were done with their bullshit. You wouldn’t be walked all over like a rug. You were finally defending yourself. </p>
<p>Happy manages to break the crowd enough for the two of you to reach the car. He holds the door open for you and closes it once you get settled. You turn sideways in the seat and prop your leg up. Your knee was hurting like crazy, even being four weeks into wearing the hinged brace. You lean your head back against the window and let out a heavy sigh. </p>
<p>Happy gets in and starts the car, driving off soon after. He glances up in the rearview mirror. “You ok?”</p>
<p>No. You weren’t. Not in the slightest. This past month has been a living hell. You couldn’t sleep, sometimes going days with no rest. You weren’t making any progress in the search for Tony. You missed him more every day. His absence was eating at you, slowly taking a bite each day. You cried in the quiet moments alone, of which there were many. Rhodey called less often, having gotten busy at whatever base he was at now. He was still looking for Tony as well. Happy and Pepper were getting even busier too, leaving you to spend most of your time alone. JARVIS, DUM-E, and U were your only consistent company.</p>
<p>Then there was the whole Homeland situation. It was confusing. You had called Obi but he had insisted it was <i>“A simple misunderstanding. I told them you had agreed to go, not that you wanted to.”</i> Then he released a press statement stating that you weren’t fired and just on medical leave while you healed from the attack. Stocks had dipped some after that, whether it was because people were disappointed you weren’t working or because you weren’t fired, you couldn’t say.</p>
<p>Yet despite Obi’s statement and having been cleared of any wrong-doings, courtesy of Coulson, you were still harassed by the media whenever you left home. There were still those who believed you were involved with Tony’s kidnapping. No matter how far-fetched it was. Everything compounded together into a storm. The stress, the sadness, the grief, the loneliness. You hardly felt like yourself anymore, more like an empty shell. It was getting harder to hold yourself together when you were cracking apart faster than you could pick up the pieces. </p>
<p>You realized you had taken too long to reply when he said your name gently. <i>Concern</i> coloring him. You look up and plaster on one of your practiced smiles. “I’m fine, Happy. Just a little tired.” </p>
<p>“You’re always ‘just a little tired’, Ace.” He was calling you out on your bullshit. Telling you that he knew you weren’t fine. But trying to soften the blow with a nickname. You feel yourself crack a little bit more. <i>So close</i> to shattering. </p>
<p>“I know. I haven’t been sleeping well.” You look away from him, choosing to stare out the window instead. You couldn’t break down. You needed to <i><b>stay strong.</b></i> All it would take is a little push at this point, just a tiny shove until you broke. </p>
<p>“If you need to talk about Ton-”</p>
<p>“I’m fine, Happy. I don’t need to talk. I just need to get some rest.” Cutting him off a little more harshly than you meant to. The little <i>hurt</i> trickling from him instantly makes you feel bad. “I’m sorry. I just want to go home, it’s been a long day.”</p>
<p>He nods and stays silent for the rest of the ride.</p><hr/>
<p>The sound of Pepper calling your name pulls your eyes from the screen in front of you. “Are you down here?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, Pep. I’m over here.” You sit up enough to where she can see you over the monitors. She makes her way over carrying a folder. The <i>heartbreak</i> from her slides right through you. Hardly affecting you anymore. It was something you felt every second you sat down here without him.</p>
<p>“I just need you to sign some things.” She holds the folder out to you. You open it to see transaction requests and after a brief look over you raise an eyebrow at her.</p>
<p>“I’m on medical leave, I can’t sign off on these.” Technically speaking. Obi would have to reinstate you before you could do anything. You lay the folder open on the table. </p>
<p>“They aren’t for Stark Industries.” She picks the top paper up and holds it out to you. “They’re donation requests for charity benefits Tony donates to annually.”</p>
<p>You take ahold of the paper and look at it more thoroughly. “Why are you giving me these then?” You couldn’t do anything about it. Tony had to sign them, they were for <i>his</i> money. </p>
<p>“You’re a co-signer on Tony’s accounts.” Your eyes widen in surprise. <i>Since when?</i></p>
<p>“I don’t remember signing anything. Especially anything meaning I have access to Tony’s bank accounts.” <i>Confusion</i> arises in her then. Same as your own.</p>
<p>“Your signature is right here.” She pulls another paper out, and sure enough. Your signature is sitting pretty on a paper claiming co-ownership. One you know for a fact you didn’t sign. Which means…</p>
<p>“JARVIS.”</p>
<p>“Yes, ma’am?”</p>
<p>“What do you know about this?” He had to know something. He had access to literally everything of Tony’s. </p>
<p>“Mr. Stark added you as a co-signer to his accounts when you agreed to move in with him two years ago.”</p>
<p>You sigh. <i>Of course he did.</i> Illegally too, considering you never signed anything. He had to have taken your signature from one of a million things you’d signed over the years and done the paperwork himself. He knew you wouldn’t have agreed to being added to his accounts, so he did it without asking. </p>
<p>You look back down at the papers to look more seriously at them, now that you knew you had the authority to sign them. Authority you didn’t want, but were given anyway. “You said he makes these donations annually?” If this was something he usually did on his own, you’d do it for him since he couldn’t at the moment. </p>
<p>“Yes, every year since I started at least.” With her confirmation you hold your hand out for a pen, which she promptly puts in your grasp. You print your signature with a flourish for at least ten different organizations, ranging from The Boy Scouts of America to the Stark Firefighter Family Fund. The latter made more sense than the former for him to be donating to. Maybe he just chose stuff at random? He had more than enough money to throw around to do that.</p>
<p>You close the folder after signing everything and hand it back to her. “There you go.”</p>
<p>“Thank you.” You expect her to leave then, but she remains standing there awkwardly. Something obviously weighing heavily on her mind.</p>
<p>“Do you need something else?” Prompting her gently.</p>
<p>“Do you think he’s still alive?” The ever-present <i>heartbreak</i> whenever she came down here amplified then. Nearly dragging you down with her.</p>
<p>“He’s alive, Pep.” You pull a stool out beside you and gesture for her to sit. She slumps onto the stool, defeat in her posture.</p>
<p>“But how do you know that? Why haven’t you or Rhodey found anything?” She had a point there. The lack of, well, <i>anything</i> was concerning. “You’d think after kidnapping a billionaire they’d make a ransom demand. Or they’d make a show of killing him.” Another point. Killing America’s leading weapons manufacturer is a terrorist’s dream. </p>
<p>Your eyes widen in realization. <i><b>Weapons manufacturer.</b></i> That’s what they wanted him for. His mind, not his money. “Pepper, you’re a genius.” You give her a quick pat and squeeze on both shoulders before turning to the monitors. How many times has that thought passed your mind? How many times could you have made that connection? Too many to count. But now that you have “JARVIS, pull up all satellite images of Afghanistan from the last three months. I don't care where you get them from.” There was no time to waste. He could steal from Russia for all you care.</p>
<p>Pepper watches on in confusion as you flip through image after image, trying to find a pattern. If they were making Tony build things for them, they’d need the materials to do it. They’d also need food, water, basic living necessities. Which means transport trucks would be running to and from a location periodically. Probably to somewhere remote. Somewhere that would make no sense to be taking materials. Somewhere like… “JARVIS, zoom in on that mountain range.” He does as you instruct. “Clean the image up some, sharpen it up.” Right now it was too blurry to make anything out. “Now, flip through each satellite still taken.”</p>
<p>If you were right, you should see trucks or jeeps, or whatever they used to transport loads appearing every now and then. It was nothing but dessert for the first few pictures. Then a line of trucks. More dessert. More trucks. More dessert. More trucks… Once a week there were trucks passing through the mountains. Disappearing for a few hours before reappearing going back the way they came. “Bingo.”</p>
<p>“What is it? What’d you find?” You startle a bit at the voice close to your ear. You had forgotten Pepper was still sitting there. Too absorbed in your analyzing. </p>
<p>“JARVIS, send this information to Rhodey and tell him to call me ASAP.” After he confirms it as sent, you turn to look at Pepper. “I may have just found where they took Tony.” It <i>had</i> to be where he was. There weren’t any other leads. This is the only thing that makes sense. After three months of nothing, you finally had something. </p>
<p>Her <i>shock</i> followed by <i>intense hope</i> makes you smile. If she and Tony ended up together, you’d be fine with that. She truly cares about him. She’d take care of him, probably better than you could. “How?”</p>
<p>“Think about it, Why would they take Tony? If not for ransom or to tote his head around on a pike, then <b>why?</b> Because they’re putting him to work.”</p>
<p>She opens her mouth to respond but JARVIS stops her. “Ma’am, Colonel Rhodes is on the line.”</p>
<p>“Connect it.” </p>
<p><i>“Ace, what’d you send me?”</i> You can hear the curious confusion in his voice. To him it was just a bunch of pictures. But since he called you right away, he knew they were important. </p>
<p>You begin to speak animatedly, Pepper’s hope mixing with your own brightening your mood. “I think that’s where Tony is being held. I looked at some satellite pic-” </p>
<p><i>“Ok, let me stop you there. I know you’re about to tell me something very illegal and the less I know the better.”</i> You’re a little off-put from how he shuts you down. <i>“How sure are you?”</i> He rectifies that a second later. </p>
<p>“<b>Very.</b>” Speaking this with as much sureness as you could.</p>
<p><i>“Alright, I’ll get a survey set up. I’ll head out in a couple hours.”</i> He was trusting you completely. Not questioning how you knew, or how gained access to the information. Just acting based on your word alone.</p>
<p>“Thank you, Rhodey.” You say this as genuinely as possible. It was so nice having him in your corner, backing you up.</p>
<p>
  <i>“No need to thank me. You're the one who found the information. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”</i>
</p>
<p>“Alright, stay safe.”</p>
<p><i>“You too.”</i> With that, he was gone. Pepper grabs your attention by suddenly pulling you into a hug.</p>
<p>“Woah, what’s that for?” You hug her back, a little awkward from the angle you were in. Voice muffled into her shoulder where you found yourself being pressed.</p>
<p>“Just thought we could both use one. For good luck.” The <i>hope</i> swirling the room from the both of you filled you to the brim, filling all of your cracks.  God, you hoped he was found.</p>
<p>If not, you really would shatter.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This chapter took me wayyyy too long to write. I had like ten different ideas until I settled for this. </p>
<p>Tony escapes next chapter! They'll be together again soon, finally. Poor babies deserve a nice big hug- with each other of course.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0035"><h2>35. Chapter 35</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tony's escape.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tony braces himself for the weight as Yinsen lowers the chest plate down onto him. “Ok, can you move?” Tony wiggles his fingers and makes a fist and bends his arms a bit to check mobility. Yinsen nods in approval as he continues to secure each piece. “Say it again.”</p>
<p>“41 steps straight ahead. Then 16 steps- that’s from the door- fork right, 33 steps, turn right. Straight ahead from there until I hit a big room. The exit will be through there.”  Tony recites what Yinsen has spent hours drilling into his head flawlessly. It had to be perfect.</p>
<p>“Very good. Again.” Yinsen makes Tony repeat it several more times as he preps the suit. Making sure every piece is connected properly to each other and that each piece of armor is secured in place. The flap on the door opens followed by yelling.</p>
<p>“Yinsen! Yinsen! Stark!” Someone was clearly trying to see what they were doing, checking in. Yinsen stays quiet while putting the finishing screws into place.</p>
<p>“Say something. Say something back to him.” Tony whispers this, not wanting the man at the door to hear him. But they needed just a little more time.</p>
<p>“He’s speaking Hungarian. I don’t-”</p>
<p>“Then speak Hungarian.”</p>
<p>“Ok, I know.”</p>
<p>“What do you know?” Tony tries to prompt Yinsen who’s clearly thinking hard, trying to remember any Hungarian he knew. </p>
<p>Yinsen shouts something back to the man, but it does nothing to soothe him. He continues yelling. Eventually, he loses patience. Tony and Yinsen hear the lock on the door being undone before an explosion rocks the room. </p>
<p>“How’d that work?” Tony asks Yinsen since he currently can’t see.</p>
<p>Yinsen takes a peek at the carnage the bomb created. “Oh my goodness. It worked all right.”</p>
<p>“That’s what I do.” The bomb did its job. Perfect.</p>
<p>“Let me finish this.” Yinsen goes back to the screws. </p>
<p>“Initialize the power sequence.” Now that the bomb had gone off, they were limited on time. More men would be rushing there any second. The suit would take a minute to fully power up. “Now!”</p>
<p>Yinsen drops the drill he was using and spins to the laptop. “Tell me. Tell me.”</p>
<p>“Function 11.Tell me when you see a progress bar. It should be up right now.”</p>
<p>“Yes.”</p>
<p>“Talk to me. Tell me when you see it.” He needed to know exactly where the process was at to know what to tell him to do next.</p>
<p>“I have it.”</p>
<p>“Press Control I.”</p>
<p>“I. Got it.”</p>
<p>“I. Enter.”</p>
<p>“I and Enter.”</p>
<p>“Come over here and button me up.” Yinsen spins back around, picking up the discarded drill. Tony looks up as he starts to hear yelling down the corridor. “Every other hex bolt.” It would have to be good enough. They were out of time. </p>
<p>“They’re coming!” The nervousness clearly conveyed in his voice.</p>
<p>“Nothing pretty, just get it done.” Tony keeps his voice calm and level, hoping to ease the man a bit. He had to stay calm and focused to get this done. “Just get it done.”</p>
<p>“They’re <i>coming.</i>” Growing even more nervous with each second that passed.</p>
<p>After finishing bolting, Yinsen turns to look at the progress bar as Tony talks.  “Make sure the checkpoints are clear before you follow me out, ok?”</p>
<p>Seeing it was only halfway through, Yinsen makes a decision. “We need more time.” He turns back to Tony, voice resigned. “I’m gonna go buy you some time.”</p>
<p>Dread fills Tony’s stomach as Yinsen moves away from him. “Stick to the plan!” When Yinsen doesn’t turn back Tony tries again. “Stick to the plan!” If they stick to it, they could both make it out of there. Yinsen was about to embark on a suicide mission.</p>
<p>Tony hears Yinsen begin to fire bullets while the sound of his footsteps fade away. “Yinsen!” His eyes start to sting with tears. Yinsen was going to sacrifice himself if Tony couldn’t get out there to help quicker. He turns to watch the progress bar move agonizingly slow. Each second was too long. </p>
<p>Tony listens to the sound of distant gunfire before it comes to an abrupt stop. His heart drops into his shoes. His attention is quickly stolen from the dead silence as the power sequence finally begins. The lights go out as the suit sucks up all of the power before it comes to life slowly.</p>
<p>As Tony puts on the final piece, the helmet, he hears voices coming his way. He stays as silent as possible as they approach and covers the light from his arc reactor. Waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He hears footsteps by the door before men enter the room quietly. Obviously looking for him. A man walks directly in front of him studying the room. Perfect.</p>
<p>Tony lowers his hand from the arc reactor, getting the man's attention from the sudden light. He turns around and Tony punches him hard. The man flies across the room firing bullets pointlessly before hitting the wall and falling to the ground with a thud. The other men at the door fire into the room blindly, emptying their mags.</p>
<p>When Tony is sure their mags are empty he finally approaches the door. He swings his arms to each side, each one hitting a man sending them smashing into the walls. The third person begins firing his gun in a desperate attempt to stop Tony’s approach. He takes the oncoming fire with ease, reaching the man and sending him to the floor with a hard punch.</p>
<p>Tony turns and takes off down the corridor at a steady pace while another person at the end shoots at him. The suit takes the bullets perfectly, barely even nicking. When he gets close the man gives up shooting and rushes him to strike. Tony quickly puts him down. Another man follows up behind the first and gets thrown back with a powerful punch. </p>
<p>Throughout the whole fight Tony keeps his steady pace down the hall. He quickly reaches the fork and swings his arm into the face of a man waiting for him around the corner. He turns right, as Yinsen had drilled into his head, and continues his trek. The men who had witnessed Tony’s power run from him fearfully, hoping to regroup with reinforcements. One man turns around in his fright and tries to shoot him again, only to get locked into the hall with Tony by his fellow terrorists. Tony approaches mercilessly as he bangs on the door begging to be let through. Tony throws him harshly to the side before punching the door. It dents a little bit, but not quite enough so Tony hits it again. And again. And again. Until he kicks it down, sending the doors clean off their hinges and into men waiting on the other side. </p>
<p>Tony takes a couple steps forward and swings his arm to knock another person down, only to get his arm stuck in the wall of the cave. A little panic takes hold of him as he tries to pull it out to no avail. He brings his other arm forward to help pull, trying desperately to get free. A loud <i>ding</i> echoing in his helmet makes him turn to see a man falling to the ground, having been shot by his own bullet that ricocheted off his armor. Tony finally manages to pull his arm free with a swell of relief and continues on his warpath. </p>
<p>He encounters no more men for a bit, assuming they all fled in terror. He walks along the hall still mentally counting his steps to nothing but the sound of his heavy metallic steps. The otherwise silent walk provided no relief, only succeeding in heightening his anxious worry for Yinsen. He had yet to come across him.</p>
<p>Tony sees a more open portion of the cave ahead. He was almost out, the exit was just on the other side of that room. He enters the room but stops in his tracks when he spots Yinsen laying on sandbags covered in blood. “Yinsen!” </p>
<p>He starts to walk to him but Yinsen’s weak voice calling out to him stops him. “Watch out!” Just as a rocket is launched at him. Tony leans back, barely dodging in time. He didn’t want to test the suit against a rocket just yet. He quickly reaches to his left arm and opens a flap on it. He could play that game too. He launches a rocket right back at the man. </p>
<p>As he collapses and debris falls everywhere, Tony makes his way to Yinsen. He pulls an empty bag off of him and flings it to the side before kneeling next to him. Yinsen’s labored breathing pains Tony to hear. “Stark.”</p>
<p>He flips his facemask up so he can talk to Yinsen face to face. “Come on. We got to go.” He couldn’t leave him behind. “Move for me. Come on. We got a plan, we’re gonna stick to it”</p>
<p>“This was always the plan, Stark.” The words hurt as much as his quiet, dying voice. Tears sting in Tony’s eyes.</p>
<p>“Come on, you’re gonna go see your family. Get up.”</p>
<p>“My family is dead.” Tony’s heart shatters. “I’m going to see them now, Stark.” Tony struggles to hold back his tears as he watches Yinsen come to terms with his death. “It’s ok. I want this. I want this.”</p>
<p>Voice so low it’s barely audible. He was on his way out. Tony gathers his strength to give him a small smile. Being strong for him. “Thank you for saving me.” </p>
<p>
  <i>“Don’t waste it. <b>Don’t waste your life.</b>”<i> With those last words Yinsen fades away. The man who saved him was now dead. Grief takes a brief hold over Tony, before an all-consuming rage fills him. <i>These bastards did this.</i> Tony stands and flips his mask back down. He takes a single second to breathe and gather himself before marching to the exit of the cave.</i></i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i></i>
  </i>
</p>
<p>
  <i></i>
</p>
<p>As soon as he steps into view bullets start to rain down on him. He stands strong against the onslaught until it stops. Channeling his anger into his voice. “My turn.” He turns on his flamethrowers, burning everything and anyone in his path.He walks through the middle of the camp making sure to burn everything possible. He was going to leave these people with nothing. He was going to destroy it all. </p>
<p>A heavy machine gun starts to fire on him, the force of the bullets hitting forces Tony to bring an arm up to attempt to take some of it and to block his face. A bullet hits one of the exposed joints on his knee and forces him to an abrupt drop. The suit was too heavy for his leg to hold so suddenly. The bullets keep raining down on him as he brings one arm up to keep spewing flames. Doing his best to destroy all that he could. </p>
<p>The heat surrounds him suffocatingly, explosions going off on every side. He manages to pull himself up to a stand, forcing his leg to hold the weight of the suit. He flips a switch on his arm to ignite his thrusters. If he didn’t leave now he’d go down with the camp. He launches into the air as everything explodes beneath him.</p>
<p>He clears the plume of smoke and fire and soars into the open blue sky. Relief and hope fill him. He managed to escape. The feeling lasts for about two seconds before his thrusters spark and stop working. He screams as he drops from the sky, landing painfully into a sand dune. He lays still for a few moments riding through the pain. He flings the remnants of the suit off of his arms and rips his helmet off. He sighs with relief once he gets it off and lays his head back. “Not bad.”</p>
<p>After laying for probably too long a time, Tony digs himself out of the sandy ditch. He slowly and painfully takes his jacket off and wraps it around his head. His shoulders would be burned but he was more worried about heatstroke. Keeping the sun from directly beaming on his head would give him more time. He stumbles off into the blazing desert.</p>
<p>After walking many hours in the heat and bright sun, Tony is dead tired and walking in a daze. He’s sweaty, covered in blood, aching all over, and just ready to go home. He’s about to take a small break but the sudden loud sound of helicopters snaps him free of the daze. Pure relief fills his chest when he recognizes <i>American</i> helicopters. He raises his arm swinging it wildly and yelling. “Hey!” He laughs and smiles as the helicopter starts to land. He drops to his knees holding up a peace sign.</p>
<p>Joy fills him as he watches Rhodey run towards him across the sand. When he gets close he stops in front of Tony. “How was the fun-vee?” Despite the relief of being found and with one of his best friends, Tony still had one worry choking him.</p>
<p>He manages to find his voice. “Ace?”</p>
<p>Rhodey kneels next to him and puts his hand on his shoulder. “She’s ok. Next time you two ride with me, ok?” A smile blooms on Tony’s face. <i>She’s ok.</i></p>
<p>He drops his head onto Rhodey’s shoulder. Finally letting the relief and happiness fully soak into him, just enjoying being in his presence. One main thought running through his head. <i>She’ll be there waiting for him.</i></p><hr/>
<p>“Ma’am-” You jerk awake, sitting up quickly from where you had fallen asleep on the table. “-Colonel Rhodes is calling.” It takes a moment for the thought to fully process. You had been in a deep sleep for once. You glance at the time to see it’s four am. </p>
<p>“Answer it. Speaker please.” You wipe the drool from your face. If he was calling at this time it had to be important. He always took into account what time it was for you here before he called. “What’s up Rho-”</p>
<p>
  <i>“I found him. He’s ok.”</i>
</p>
<p>You don’t hear anything else as pure happiness fills you and a smile so big it hurts stretches across your face. Only two thoughts running in your head on repeat. <i>He’s ok. <b>He’s coming home.</b></i></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Woooh! He's freeeeeee. They'll be back together next chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0036"><h2>36. Chapter 36</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tony comes home.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A couple of anxious excitement ridden days later, you found yourself standing on the tarmac with Happy and Pepper waiting for Tony to arrive. Happy was standing close to your side, arm wrapped around your shoulders enveloping you in comfort. Pepper on your other side, swirling with the same <i>anxious excitement</i> you felt. Both of you held unshed tears in your red eyes.</p>
<p>The cargo plane Rhodey had said they’d be on finally comes into view. Happy squeezes your shoulders a little tighter as it lands and begins its slow crawl towards you. It comes to a stop, ramp facing you as it begins its agonizingly slow reveal of the precious cargo within. You’re practically vibrating with excitement as first Rhodey then Tony come into view. Your worry spikes a bit when you see him in a wheelchair with a sling and scratches on his face, and doesn’t go away as you watch him struggle to stand. His eyes lock with yours as he limps down the ramp leaning on Rhodey.</p>
<p>Your eye contact only breaks when he looks down at his feet to watch where he steps getting off of the ramp. You’re barely holding yourself back from straight up tackling him in a hug at this point, Happy’s still squeezy grip helping to ground you in your spot. Tony waves away the stretcher that is being wheeled up to him and looks back up. His gaze hovers for a second on your knee brace before he brings his eyes back up to yours. He holds your gaze as he approaches you, stopping only a couple feet away. </p>
<p>Neither of you move or speak for a long few moments. Simply staring into each other’s eyes and basking in the same <i>relief</i> and <i>joy</i>. He’s the first to break and holds his good arm out, beckoning you into a hug. You tackle him a little harder than you mean to, sending him stumbling back a step. He chuckles and wraps his arm around you after steadying himself. You bury your face into the crook of his neck and wrap your arms around his middle tightly, breathing him in. You stay like that until he mutters out in a strained voice. “I missed you too, but I kinda can’t breathe.”</p>
<p>You release your hold on him and step back with a little rush of heat to your cheeks and a shy smile. You forgot you had to be careful about how hard you hug someone.  “Sorry.”</p>
<p>He smiles softly at you and reaches his hand up to cup your cheek. You lean into his touch as his thumb strokes your skin gently.  “I’m glad you’re ok.” He then clears his throat, drops his hand, and turns to face Pepper. Moment of softness gone. “Your eyes are red. A few tears for your long-lost boss?”</p>
<p>“Tears of Joy. I hate job hunting.” Despite her slightly sassy words, she smiles and emanates <i>happiness.</i> It makes your own smile bigger, such a good emotion to just absorb. </p>
<p>“Yeah, vacation’s over.” Tony quickly moves past her. Something you hadn’t been expecting, neither was she if the little trickle of <i>hurt</i> told you anything.</p>
<p>Before you follow him you walk up to Rhodey and pull him into a tight hug, not nearly as tight as Tony’s had been though. “Thank you.”</p>
<p>He squeezes you back. “Take care of him.” You nod and pull back after another squeeze, give him a kiss on the cheek, then turn and catch up to the group heading to the car. You fall into step with Pepper and give her a quick pat on the shoulder. </p>
<p>“I’ll take the front seat.”  Letting her sit next to Tony despite you wanting to. She would be better for him, he needed someone strong right now. That wasn’t you. You quicken your pace to avoid her questioning gaze. As you climb into the passenger seat you notice Tony giving you a weird look, a mixture of concern and hurt written across his face before he masks it completely. He couldn’t mask the <i>feeling</i> though, and it made you feel bad. He had wanted you to sit next to him.</p>
<p>After everyone is settled in their seats Happy looks up into the rearview mirror. “Where to, sir?” It was kind of funny how he was trying to play it cool, hiding how happy he was to have Tony back. </p>
<p>Pepper leans forward. “Take us to the hospital, please Happy.”</p>
<p>“No.” You knew Tony would argue the second the words left Pepper’s mouth. No way was he going to go to the hospital. </p>
<p>Pepper turns to look at Tony confused. “No?”</p>
<p>“No is a complete answer.”</p>
<p>“Tony, you have to go to the hospital. The doctor has to look at you.”</p>
<p>“I don’t have to do anything.” His voice raises a bit when he continues. “I’ve been in captivity for three months.” That quiets Pepper down and instills a sense of <i>sadness</i> in the air. “There are two things I want to do. I want an American cheeseburger…” He trails off and glances at you. “And the other-”</p>
<p>“That’s enough of that.” Pepper says exasperatedly. Their interaction makes you smile. </p>
<p>“-is not what you think. I want you to call for a press conference now.” This shocks you. He had just gotten home a few minutes ago after being held captive for three months, and he wants to hold a press conference? </p>
<p>Clearly Pepper feels the same way. “Call for a press conference?”</p>
<p>“Yeah.” As if it was the most normal thing on the planet. </p>
<p>“What on earth for?”</p>
<p>“Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first.” </p>
<p>Happy drives off, finally leaving the airport. He looks up in the rearview mirror again. “Where to?” </p>
<p>You respond before Tony, already knowing what was on his mind. “Burger King.” It was the exact same thing you had wanted after your own stint in Afghanistan.</p>
<p>“Happy, you heard the woman.” You turn in your seat to look at him, seeing his grin. He had said those exact words that day too. And he knew it. He catches your gaze and his grin softens. “A woman after my own heart.”</p>
<p>“You’re just a copycat.” Teasing him with a smile and slight shake of your head.</p>
<p>“I can’t be a copycat if I did it better.” Teasing you right on back. The sound of Pepper talking into her phone stops you from retorting. You playfully scoff and turn back around in your seat. Enjoying the <i>happiness</i> coming from him.</p><hr/>
<p>After Pepper finishes setting up the press conference, even calling Obi to your dismay, and Happy stops at a Burger King drive-through, ordering a ridiculous amount of cheeseburgers per Tony’s request, the four of you ride in relative silence to Stark Industries. You grow a tad nervous as the building comes into view. It was going to be swarming with reporters, all wanting a piece of Tony. With everything that had been going on the last three months, you were wary of facing all of them. </p>
<p>The car pulls to a stop in front of Obi and a crowd of employees, all clapping for Tony's arrival. Obi pulls open Tony’s door and hugs him when he gets out. You stay seated and watch Obi closely. Yet again, despite his happy appearance he has that simmering <i>anger</i> there. <i>Why is he mad?</i> You snap out of the slight daze you had fallen into when Happy’s door closes with a thud. You open your door and step out next to Tony as Happy meets you from the other side, holding out the Burger King bag. Tony takes one and hands it to you before grabbing another for himself.</p>
<p>“You had to have a burger, yeah?”  Obi says this amused while patting Tony’s shoulders. He glances at you before turning his attention back to Tony. “You get me one of those?” </p>
<p>Tony walks off with everyone following him. “There’s only one left. I need it.” That makes you smile. He had shoved one in his pocket before getting out of the car, not to mention the one you were holding.</p>
<p>You fall into step beside Pepper as the two of you follow behind Tony and Obi, both of you stowing away grins from their bickering. Your group enters the main lobby to a crowd of Reporters, clapping and snapping pictures. You and Pepper stop in the back but, almost as if he knew you would do that, Tony turns to look at you and nods his head for you to keep following him. You sigh and follow behind him and Obi as they push through the crowd. </p>
<p>Obi climbs the small stage to take the podium while Tony sits on the edge of the stage leaning against it. He looks at you and pats the space next to him, telling you to sit with him. You shake your head no- he shakes his head yes. After an argument via just your eyes and occasional head nods or shakes, you give in and sit next to him. This was not where you wanted to be, in front of all these reporters. But he wanted you there.</p>
<p>Tony takes out the last burger from his pocket and addresses the hive of reporters. “Hey, would it be all right if everyone sat down?” He raises his hand and gestures for everyone to sit. It shows how much control he has over the crowd as everyone, despite the confusion, follows his instruction. “Why don’t you just sit down? That way you can see me, and I can-” Stuffing his face with a bite of burger between words. “A little less formal and...” Obi settles down awkwardly on the stage next to him. Tony turns to look at him and mumbles quietly but genuinely. “Good to see you.”</p>
<p>Obi lays his hand on his shoulder and rubs it comfortingly. “Good to see you.” You turn your attention to him as you feel the subtle rumble of <i>deception</i> and <i>anger</i>. Something wasn’t right with him. </p>
<p>“I never got to say goodbye to dad.” A little cloud of <i>blue</i> forms in him. He turns to the crowd with a louder voice. “I never got to say goodbye to my father.” Where was he going with this? He hands you his burger to hold while he thinks about his next words. “There’s questions that I would have asked him. I would of asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels.”</p>
<p>That’s when you realized where he was going. He <i>had</i> seen that missile with his name on it, the one that blew the two of you up. He was <i>doubting</i> what he did, maybe even <i>regretting</i> it. Same as you do. There was a <i>deep pain</i> in him, you could feel it then.</p>
<p>“I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them.” His words take you back to the day of the attack. <i>The explosions. The bullets. The pain. <b>The terror.</b></i> His voice brings you back to the present. You swallow hard and focus on him. “And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability.”</p>
<p>Obi’s words float in your head. <i>“We just make the weapons. If the military can’t keep up with them, that’s on them.”</i>  <b>Zero accountability. Zero care.</b></p>
<p>The crowd starts to drop calls of Tony’s name. He calls on a reporter in the front. “What happened over there?” Not accusatory, not angry, just genuinely curious. </p>
<p>Tony glances at you and stands abruptly and moves behind the podium. “I had my eyes opened. I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up.” You finally fully realize what he was going to do. And it puts a smile on your face before he even speaks the words. “And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International-” The <i>shock</i> that makes the room erupt in frantic chatter is nothing compared to the choking <i><b>rage</b></i> that washes over you. So intense and strong you couldn’t even tell where it was coming from, it just consumed you. You bend over and try to catch your breath and coughing. Tony tries to talk over the crowd while Obi bounds to his feet and tries to guide him away from the mic. “-until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be. What direction it should take, one that I’m comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good for this country, as well.” </p>
<p>You manage to get control over yourself and lock away that source of anger as Obi finally manages to push Tony away from the mic. He grabs your hand, pulls you to your feet, and starts pulling you through the crowd as Obi’s voice rings out behind you over the loud crowd. “What we should take from this is that Tony’s back! And he’s healthier than ever! We’re going to have a little internal discussion and-” His voice cuts out as Tony pulls you into an elevator and the doors close.</p>
<p>Tony turns to look at you with a grin. “Well, that went exactly how I expected it to.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>They're together again, yay! They'll have a quiet moment or two to talk next chapter, and have a really proper reunion. This one was short, Tony doesn't like to show too much emotion around others. But in private... different story. </p>
<p>What do you think about Ace trying to subtly push Pepper and Tony together?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0037"><h2>37. Chapter 37</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Well that went exactly how I expected it to.” He leans forward and presses the button to his office floor.</p><p>“Horribly?”  You raise a brow at him. His grin widens.</p><p>“Yup.” His grin then fades as his look turns wary. “What do you think about shutting down weapon manufacturing?” There was a little <i>nervousness</i> floating in the elevator now. He didn’t know how you were feeling. You ease his nervousness by pulling him into a hug.</p><p>“I think it’s a brilliant idea.” He practically melts against you, bringing his good arm up to wrap around you and dropping his head onto your shoulder, hunching down around you. You lean your head against his chest but pull back when you hit something hard. “What’s under your shirt?” You bring your hand up to feel his chest but he stops it by grabbing it with his own.</p><p>“That’s actually why we’re heading to my office. I need to show you something. In private.” So that’s why he dragged you away from the crowd and into the elevator. You had thought it was to escape the roaring media. The elevator opens with a ding and- without letting go of your hand- Tony goes straight to his office, shutting the door and locking it. He turns to look at you with a serious face. Something that was always weird to see on him. “Ok, don’t freak out.”</p><p>“That’s definitely not how you should precede showing someone something.” His words actually cause you to grow a tad nervous. You hadn’t been before. He slides his jacket off, lays it over a chair, pulls his tie loose, and lays it over his jacket. He then removes his sling with a barely concealed grimace. You reach up and still his actions with a gentle hand. “You sure you should be doing that?”</p><p>“I’m fine.” You drop your hand as he begins unbuttoning his shirt. He pulls his shirt open to either side, revealing a device <i>inside of his chest</i>. You gasp and your heart starts to pound as you stare at it. You reach up shaking hands and put them on his chest on either side of it, close but too scared to actually touch it. <i>What happened to him over there? </i></p><p>“What- How- “ Unable to form any words, too many questions popping up in your head to form any one coherent sentence. He takes your hands in his own, thumbs rubbing soothing circles against your skin. Completely calm about the situation.</p><p>“It’s an electromagnet powered by a miniaturized arc reactor.” His grip on your hands tightens. “It’s to keep shrapnel from entering my heart.” You tear your gaze from the arc reactor and look up at him. You instantly know that the shrapnel is from the bomb <i>he protected you from.</i> That shrapnel should be inside of <b>you</b>, not <i><b>him.</b></i> Your gaze drops from his, regret and guilt consuming you entirely. If you had reacted faster...</p><p>“Tony- I’m so-”</p><p><b>“Don’t.”</b> He cuts you off sharply. “It’s not your fault.” You try to pull away but he keeps you there with a firm grip. He leans down to catch your eyes, when you meet them. “It’s not.”</p><p>You give him a small nod. Not quite believing him entirely. He lets you lift one of your hands and you place it very lightly on the arc reactor. “Are you ok?” </p><p>“Never better.” An obvious lie, but not one worth calling out. He already knew you knew better. He takes a small step back and starts to button his shirt back up. You grab his tie and start to put it on for him when he finishes buttoning. “Thanks.”</p><p>“It’s the least I can do.” You tighten the finished knot and smooth his tie down. You then grab his discarded sling.</p><p>He makes quite the face. “I don’t need that thing.” But at your dry look he acquiesces and leans down a bit so you could put it on easier. Once it’s adjusted correctly he places a quick kiss on your temple and leans back. “What would I do without you?”</p><p>“Leave half-dressed.” You turn to grab his jacket and hide how flustered that small peck made you. It had caught you off guard. You walk behind him and hold the jacket up so he can slip his left arm in. After draping the other side over his right shoulder you stand back in front of him and give him a pointed look over. “Much better.”</p><p>“Thank you.” The smile aimed at you is gentle and genuine. You take a moment to study him. He’s the same man as before, but there’s something different about him. Something deep down that exudes this <i>warmth</i>. Something you couldn’t quite place. But further beneath that there was a layer of <i>grief</i> and <i>regret.</i> His hand waves in front of your face and you startle a bit. “You in there?”</p><p>“Yeah.” Apparently you had zoned out. You had started to do that more lately, especially when you were <i>feeling</i> someone. Searching them- most times unintentional. Now he studies you, <i>worry</i> flaring to life. Brows furrowing.</p><p>“Maybe you should head home. You look like hell.”</p><p>“Thanks, just what I wanted to hear.” You sass him a bit. Hoping to stave off that worry. He had just gotten home. He had enough on his plate. “I’m fine, Tony. I’ve just been on my feet for too long.” Not exactly a lie. Your knee was starting to really hurt, it was reaching its limit of walking and standing. He didn’t need to know you hadn’t slept since Rhodey told you he found him. </p><p>His eyes drop down to your knee. Attention successfully diverted, but maybe not in a good way. “What happened?” Despite him asking that, it was obvious he already knew. It was the same thing that led to him standing there with shrapnel in his chest. </p><p>“Shattered my kneecap. Not a big deal, I’ll be beginning physical therapy soon.” His <i>guilt</i> was all too telling. He blamed himself for what happened. You grab his hand, making his eyes lift from your knee back to yours. If you weren’t allowed to blame yourself for his injuries, he wasn’t allowed to blame himself for yours.  “It’s not your fault either.” None of it was. </p><p>“I built-” </p><p>“<b>We</b> built them.” </p><p>“But it’s <i><b>my</b></i> company. <i><b>My</b></i> name on those weapons.” You didn’t have an argument to that. It didn’t matter anyway, no matter what you said he’d feel responsible.</p><p>So, where words fail you, you let actions guide you. You reach up and cup his cheek, gently brushing over the cut resting there. The action seems to <i>ease</i> him, emotional storm that had been brewing inside of him calming. Brown eyes closing as he leans into your touch, surrendering to it. “Let’s go home Tony.”</p><p>There was no more need to be here. He could go home and rest now. He nods and opens his eyes. “Yeah. Just have to make a pit stop first.”</p>
<hr/><p>“Wait here.” Said to both you and Happy outside the housing facility of the original arc reactor. You wanted to go in with him, considering he had gotten lost in thought and slowly grew more and more solemn on the ride over. But if Tony wanted to be alone, you’d respect that. You step out of the car, knee protesting the movement heavily, and sit on the hood close to Happy with your back mostly to him.</p><p>“He ok?”</p><p>You glance at him over your shoulder. Tony wasn’t exactly ok, how could anyone be after being held captive? You knew that. But “He will be.” you also knew he was stronger than you ever were. He’d be ok in the end. </p><p>The two of you fall into a comfortable silence, only interrupted by Obi riding up on a segway. “Where is he?” Mumbled angrily around a cigar to Happy. After a short response and gesture to the door, Obi goes to walk in but catches sight of you, diverting his route to stand in front of you. He leans in close, <i>anger</i> choking you. For once it wasn't simmering. It was full on boiling. He is <i>really</i> mad. “What’d you say to him?”</p><p>“What?” Completely confused. It didn’t help your brain to think with the anger surrounding you. It clogged your senses and made it hard to focus. He leans even closer to you, about to speak again when Happy clears his throat. Snapping both of you from your different but similarly sourced hazes. Obi leans away, gives you a hard pat on the shoulder, and walks away. Leaving you taking deep breaths of fresh air in the wake of his anger. </p><p>“What was that about?”</p><p>Your head snaps to look at Happy. He had moved to standing next to you. You relax seeing his familiar kind face, the effects of Obi’s anger fading away. “I don’t know.”</p><p>“He was really mad.” </p><p>“No shit.” Ok so maybe not all of Obi’s anger left with him. “Sorry Hap.” You lean over and rest your head on his shoulder. </p><p>“Don’t be. It’s been a stressful time.” Understatement of the century. </p><p>A throat clearing startles you. You jump and look around Happy to see Tony standing there. Sling off, jacket and tie laying over his arm. “If you two are done snuggling, I’m ready to go home.”</p><p>“He was just acting as my standing pillow for a second. He’s quite soft.” You slide off of the hood and walk around the car. Tony shoots you a look you can’t quite place when you get in. “What?”</p><p>“Nothing.” Ok then.</p>
<hr/><p>“Welcome home ma’am, sir. It’s been a very long time.” JARVIS greets You and Tony as you step in the door.</p><p>“It’s good to be home, J.” He makes his way into the living room, dropping his jacket, sling, and tie on a couch and moving to stand at the windows. You follow behind him quietly and settle onto the couch he dropped his stuff on. The exhaustion was finally getting to you, manifesting itself in an intense migraine. You lay down and put your arm over your eyes.</p><p>“Based on news reports I calculated your safe return at 0.25%.”</p><p>“Yeah, I missed you too.” Tony replies dryly. </p><p>“JARVIS, why can’t you just greet him normally?” You practically groan this out. </p><p>“My apologies. It is very good to see you, sir.” The sarcasm in his voice makes you smile.</p><p>“Thank you, JARVIS.” He sends the sarcasm right on back. You feel movement by your head followed by Tony’s voice much closer than before. “What’s wrong with you?”</p><p>You move your arm and look up to see him looking down at you. You give him a smile. “Just a small headache.” </p><p>Instantly you feel his <i>doubt.</i> He frowns and pats his lap. “My turn to be your pillow.” You sigh and shift up until your head rests in his lap. You still couldn't hide anything from him. His hand falls into your hair and strokes through it gently. Your eyes fall closed and your migraine instantly fades. His <i>warmth</i> seeps into you, dragging you closer to the edge of sleep despite not wanting to be. “Sleep.” </p><p>You can’t do anything except obey.</p>
<hr/><p>Tony watches as she falls asleep within seconds. A true testament to how tired she was, further proven by the dark bags under her eyes. Keeping his voice low. “JARVIS, when was the last time she slept?”</p><p>“She has been awake since 4:03 am May 1st.” Tony’s eyes widen in surprise. 74 hours. She’d been awake for 74 hours. How she had managed to appear so <i>normal</i>- Without prompting him, JARVIS continues. Almost as if he was worried about her too.  “She has been suffering from consistent nightmares and avoiding sleep for the last three months.”</p><p>His hand stills in her hair, just holding her. Watching her. Whether the nightmares were from her own experience or his capture, he didn’t know. But one thing he did know was “You can stop worrying now, I'm home. I’ve got you.” and he wasn’t going to let go.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Some sweetness was due. Ace can finally relax now that Tony's home, and despite everything he's went/going through he's gonna be there to take care of her.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0038"><h2>38. chapter 38</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You wake up to the sound of heels echoing across the room. Confused as to why someone was in your room you open your eyes, only to be met by the back of a couch. The living room? Why were you in the living room? The last thing you remembered was talking to Tony- <i>Tony</i>. You launch up from the couch. <i>Where is he?</i></p>
<p>“<i>Jesus!</i>” Your eyes quickly fall on a startled Pepper, standing there with a hand on her chest and staring at you. “Don’t scare me like that!...Why were you sleeping on the couch?”</p>
<p>You clear your throat and take a breath to calm your racing heart. “I just fell asleep here.” You look down into your lap to see Tony’s jacket. He must have put it over you last night. “Do you know where Tony is?”</p>
<p>“Down in the lab I think.” Her eyes fall to the jacket in your lap. An unidentifiable look briefly crosses her face and a tiny twinge of <i>jealously</i> follows. </p>
<p>“How bad is the fallout from yesterday?” Trying to distract her from her thoughts. You sit up and remove the jacket, throwing it off to the other end of the couch. She sits down on a chair next to the coffee table, places her planner on it, and pulls her laptop into her lap.</p>
<p>“It’s pretty bad. Stocks are dropping fast.” This wasn’t surprising to hear. Tony had very suddenly pulled the company out of the weapons business, the very thing it was almost solely based on. Comparatively, very little of Stark Industries was dedicated to medical advancements and intelli-crops. </p>
<p>“Not exactly surprising. They’ll come back up.” She makes a non-committal hum of agreement. You stand up and stretch your sore muscles. It wasn’t a good idea to sleep on the couch, even if it had been the best sleep you’d gotten in months. “I’m gonna go shower.” She makes another hum and gives a small nod, obviously trying to focus on whatever she was working on. </p>
<p>You head upstairs, strip free of your worn and slept in clothes, and take a nice long shower. The hot water felt nice raining down on you. It soothes your achy and taut muscles, relaxing you. You step out feeling refreshed. After drying your hair, you leave the bathroom to get dressed.</p>
<p><i>“How big are your hands?”</i> You nearly fall while pulling pants on when Tony’s voice suddenly echoes across the room. You glare at the ceiling, even knowing he couldn’t see you.</p>
<p>“Tony! A little warning next time.”</p>
<p><i>“How big are your hands?”</i> He simply repeats the question, completely ignoring you.</p>
<p>Your brows furrow, completely confused as to why he needed to know the size of your hands. “What? Why do you-” </p>
<p>
  <i>“Get down here. I need you.”</i>
</p>
<p>You pull your pants on properly and leave the room. You pass by Pepper sitting in the living room, absorbed in the TV. You stop for a moment to glance at it, only to see it was a show discussing Stark Industries’ stocks. Yikes. You turn away and head down the steps to the workshop. Looking through the glass as you put your code in, you see Tony laying on a reclined chair. Shirtless with an arc reactor in his hand. He must have made a new one. You pull the door open and step in.</p>
<p>“Hey.” The awkwardness in his voice at the simple greeting almost makes you laugh. He was never awkward. “Let’s see them.” Your confusion must of showed because he raises a hand up and wiggles his fingers. “Show me your hands.” Right, the reason he called in the first place. You raise your hands up, still completely confused as to why he needed to know. “Oh, wow. They are small. Very petite, indeed.” You walk over to him as he fiddles with the arc reactor, avoiding your gaze. “I just need your help for a sec.”</p>
<p>“With the arc reactor?” You could only assume that was the case. You gesture towards the one in his hand. “Is that a new one?”</p>
<p>He taps the one on his chest. “Yeah, This is now an antique.” He holds up the new arc reactor for you to see before turning his head to meet your eyes. “This is what will be keeping me alive for the foreseeable future. I’m swapping it up for an upgraded unit, and I just ran into a little speed bump.”</p>
<p>You were impressed that he built a new reactor in a single night. While you were sleeping, he was busy making sure he stayed alive. You should have been down here helping him. But now that you were. “Speed bump? What kind of speed bump?”</p>
<p>“Just a little snag. There’s an exposed wire under this device.” He reaches up and starts to take out the old arc reactor. The action makes you a little nervous. “And it’s contacting the socket wall and causing a little bit of a short. It’s fine.” He then tugs on the reactor and rips it out completely. </p>
<p>You look at him with wide eyes. He just took out the thing keeping him alive like it was no big deal. He hands it over to you. Your brain decided that that moment was the perfect time to stop working. Every bit of genius and technical know-how just flew out the window as a soft panic took hold. “Uh, what do you want me to do?” </p>
<p>“Put that on the table over there.” He takes your current state of brainlessness in stride, easily directing you. You put it on the table quickly and turn back to him. “I want you to reach in, and you’re just gonna <i>gently</i> lift the wire out.” </p>
<p>You focus on the word <i>gently</i>. He emphasized it for a reason. No accidentally ripping it out with your super strength. “You sure I should be the one doing this? Is it safe?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, you should be fine. It’s like operation. You just don’t let it touch the socket wall or it goes beep.” The steadiness of your hands wasn’t really what you were referring to, but it was another point of concern as well. You bring your hand up towards his chest. “Just gently lift the wire. Ok? Great.”</p>
<p>Your nerves grow as your fingertips barely enter the housing, making your hand shake. You could accidentally <i>hurt him.</i> That thought is the one that makes you pull your hand away. “I don’t think I should be the one to do this, Tony.”</p>
<p>He lifts his eyes to meet yours again, nothing but calmness and trust radiating in them. “No, you’re fine. You’re the most capable, qualified, trustworthy person I’ve ever met. You’re gonna do great.” Despite his words, you’re still worried. He watches you carefully before it seems to click in his mind. “You won’t hurt me.” When you still don’t move he tries a different tactic. “Is it too much of a problem to ask? Cause I really need your help here.”</p>
<p>The different strategy works. He needs your help, your worries would have to be put aside for him. That was easy to focus on. “Right. I’ll do it.” You reach your hand back up and slowly sink it inside of his chest. You eventually run into a slimy substance. You scrunch your face up in disgust as the smell wafts up to you.  “Tony, that better not be pus.” If he knowingly let you stick your hand inside of his chest pus without a glove, you’d make him eat it. </p>
<p>“It’s not pus. It’s an inorganic plasmic discharge from the device, not from my body.” His voice sounds a little strained at the end of the sentence. You glance up at him, but his face is still completely calm. Amazingly he still felt calm too. His calmness eases your own nervousness some.</p>
<p>“It smells horrible.” Trying to distract yourself from the fact that you currently had your hand in your best friend’s chest. Never in a million years would you ever think you’d be in this situation.</p>
<p>“Yeah, it does.” You keep digging around the hole, trying to find the wire. “The copper wire. You got it?” </p>
<p>Your fingers finally wrap around a wire. “Ok, I think I got it.”</p>
<p>“Ok, you got it? Now don’t let it-” Your hand twitches and the wire hits the side of the socket, creating a loud buzz and making Tony jump and raise his voice in pain. “-touch the sides when you’re coming out!”</p>
<p>“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” This was why you didn’t want to do this. </p>
<p>“That’s what I was trying to tell you before.” He calms back down and continues more calmly as you remove your hand with the wire still in your fingers, trying to pull it out as gently as possible. “Ok, now make sure that when you pull it out, you don’t-” Feeling a little resistance at the end of the wire you give it a little tug, accidentally pulling it all the way out. “There’s a magnet at the end of it! That was it. You just pulled it out.” You begin to panic as the heart monitor starts beeping rapidly in the background. Your breathing quickens and you struggle to hold yourself together. Not thinking, you go to put the magnet back in but his arm raises and blocks you. “Don’t put it back in! Don’t put it back in!”</p>
<p>“What do I do?” You put the magnet and wire somewhere behind you. Not really paying attention as to where. Looking between the monitor and him, brain still not functioning. “What’s wrong?” </p>
<p>“Nothing, I’m just going into cardiac arrest cause you yanked it out like a trout.”</p>
<p>“This is why I didn’t want to do this!” Completely exasperated and still panicked. Yet despite the threat of a heart attack, Tony was remaining calm and collected.</p>
<p>“We gotta hurry. Take this. Take this.” He hands you the new arc reactor. The tiniest amount of <i>fear</i> comes to play then. “You gotta switch it out really quick.”</p>
<p>“You’re gonna be ok, Tony.” You don’t know whether you’re saying it for your sake or his at this point. Probably more yours. You take hold of the end of the wires and start to lower them into the socket. </p>
<p>“Ok. You’re gonna attach that to the base plate.” You follow his instructions and manage to connect the wires to the base. A little shock runs through him. “Yow!” Then the rapid beeping slows to a normal rhythm. You let out a sigh of relief and start trying to finish securing the reactor with your shaking hands. “Was that so hard? It was fun right?” You can’t bring yourself to reply yet. Still trying to catch your breath and slow your own heart. He sees you struggling to secure it and gently moves your hands away. “Here, I got it.” </p>
<p>“Are you ok?” Finally finding words. You hold your plasmic discharge covered hands up above him.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I feel great. You ok?” He takes in your expression and starts to laugh. His laughter manages to calm you down the rest of the way, and even brings out your own laughter. </p>
<p>“Don’t ever, ever, ever, ever ask me to do anything like that ever again.” Only being half serious. If he needed your help again, you’d be more than willing to help him. After making him explain every aspect in detail first. His smile fades and a more serious look takes over his face. He looks right into your eyes. </p>
<p>“I don’t have anyone but you.” Everything else fades as you stare at each other, the utter <i>truth</i> behind those words bleeding into you. He wasn’t lying or making a show. He genuinely believed that. It made your heart clench in your chest almost painfully. He clears his throat and starts to get up, breaking your staring contest. “Anyway...” </p>
<p>You turn away and wipe your hands on a towel. The old arc reactor catches your eye. You pick it up. “What do you want me to do with this?”</p>
<p>“That?” He turns to look at you. “Destroy it. Incinerate it.”</p>
<p>“You don’t wanna keep it?” It may not be actively keeping him alive anymore, but this thing had once saved him. It didn’t feel right just getting rid of it. </p>
<p>“I’ve been called many things. ‘Nostalgic’ is not one of them.” </p>
<p>You had to give him that one. He had never been one to dwell on the past. But, where he wasn’t, you were. You’d find some way to make it special for him. He deserved that much. He turns away from you and starts directing Butterfingers. You stand there watching him, an ease you hadn’t felt in a long time settling over you. He was home, and he was ok. He didn’t come back broken like you did, he came back with a purpose. You didn’t know what, but you could feel it in him.</p>
<p>Probably feeling your stare he turns to look at you. “What? Why are you staring at me?”</p>
<p>You smile, a happy and bright one. “I’m just glad you’re home.”</p>
<p>He smiles back, a <i>happiness</i> and sense of <i>fulfillment</i> blooming from him. “Yeah, me too.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Chapter is very late today, but I got it out. I had some fun writing this one. I've always loved this scene in the movie.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0039"><h2>39. Chapter 39</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Let’s go see Rhodey.”</p>
<p>“Huh?” You look up from your laptop from where you were already getting started on designing Tony’s gift. It takes a moment for his words to register. “Oh, uh ok.”</p>
<p>It was a very sudden request. After the little incident with his arc reactor earlier, the two of you had settled into a comfortable silence. Both working on different things. He was sucked into something on his monitors while you were sucked into your laptop. It was so normal, as if nothing had changed. Yet, you couldn’t shake the feeling that <i>everything</i> had changed. Or it was about to.</p>
<p>“What are you waiting for? Let’s go.” You get up and carefully stretch your knee as much as you can. Sitting for too long made it stiff, it was always good to stretch it before you started walking. The brace could only do so much. He watches you as you stretch it out. “When do you get to take that thing off?”</p>
<p>“A little over two weeks from now, on the 20th I think. Then I start physical therapy.” </p>
<p>“Mind if I come with?”</p>
<p>“You want to sit there and watch while I cause myself pain?” Because that was all the physical therapy was going to be. At least for the first few sessions. It was going to be a while before real progress was made. </p>
<p>“No. I want to sit there and be there for you while you cause yourself pain.” His answer surprises you. You had expected a snarky response, but he gave a serious one instead. You look up to see him already looking at you, that new <i>warmth</i> in him blanketing you. </p>
<p>You clear your throat and tear your gaze away from his. “Alright. Let’s go.”</p><hr/>
<p>You fall in step beside Tony as you enter the hangar on the search for Rhodey. You hear his voice reverberating throughout the space, sounding as though he was just beginning a speech. “The future of air combat. Is it manned or unmanned? I’ll tell you, in my experience, no unmanned aerial vehicle will ever trump a pilot’s instinct, his insight, that ability to look into a situation beyond the obvious-” He comes into view, talking to a group of recruits as they walk through the hangar. “-and discern its outcome, or a pilot’s judgement.” </p>
<p>When you get close enough Tony speaks. “Colonel? Why not a pilot without the plane?” You glance at him. Without the plane? </p>
<p>“Look who fell out of the sky. Mr. Tony Stark.” He makes a grand gesture towards the two of you. “And Ms.-”</p>
<p>Tony speaks over him, reaching out to shake the hand of the recruit closest to him. “Hello, sir. Speaking of manned or unmanned, you gotta get him to tell you about the time he guessed wrong at spring break. Just remember that, spring break, 1987.” He turns to Rhodey. “That lovely lady you woke up with.”</p>
<p>“Don’t do that.” Addressing Tony.</p>
<p>“What was his name?” You chime in with a grin. The group of recruits start to laugh. Rhodey turns to you with an exasperated look.</p>
<p>“Don’t do that.” Now addressing you.</p>
<p>“Was it Ivan?” Tony continues, turning slightly as if he was asking you more than Rhodey.</p>
<p>“Maybe it was Ian?” Said with a little shrug. A little <i>embarrassment</i> starts to grow in Rhodey, nearly making you end your charade. But it was just too good.</p>
<p>Tony makes an <i>aha that’s right!</i> motion. “Yup, definitely Ian.”</p>
<p>“Don’t do that.” Said to the both of you now, much more exasperated than before. “They’ll believe you. Don’t do that.”</p>
<p>You step in between Tony and Rhodey, hip checking Rhodey in the process. “They should believe us.” </p>
<p>Rhodey finally chuckles and addresses the men. “Give us a couple minutes, you guys.” As they disperse, he reaches forward and gives Tony a little fond slap on the arm. “I’m surprised.”</p>
<p>“Why?”</p>
<p>“I swear, I didn’t expect to see you walking around so soon.”</p>
<p>“He’s doing a little better than walking.” You almost grumble this out. Tony clearly knows exactly what you’re referring to- The events of this morning. He shoots you a little bit of an amused look.</p>
<p>“Really?” Rhodey looks a bit skeptical about this, crossing his arms.</p>
<p>“Yeah. I wanted to tell you two at the same time. I’m working on something big.” That catches your attention. He’s barely been back for 24 hours and is already working on something? “I came to talk to you. I want both of you to be a part of it.”</p>
<p>Rhodey smiles and nods a bit. “You’re about to make a whole lot of people around here real happy, cause that little stunt at the press conference, that was a doozy.”</p>
<p>You opt to stay silent, focusing on Tony’s reaction instead. Was he working on a new weapon? After he said he’d be pulling out? That would be very… disappointing. Tony glances at you before turning back to Rhodey. “This is not for the military. I’m not- It’s different.”</p>
<p>Relief takes hold of you. While <i>disappointment</i> takes hold of Rhodey, killing the previous <i>excitement.</i> The two of you couldn’t have felt any different about this. “What? You’re a humanitarian now, like her?” He nods towards you. </p>
<p>For some reason this hurts a bit, the condescending tone he used to say it with struck you. You knew that he didn’t approve of you staying away from weapons, and even less so of Tony completely pulling out of weapons. But to completely discount whatever Tony was saying? To be so condescending on the matter? To not even try to understand? That hurt. It felt like Obi all over again.</p>
<p>“I need you to listen to me.” </p>
<p>“No. What you need is time to get your mind right.” Obi had said that too. Why did everyone think that? Tony huffs a sardonic laugh, faking a smile. It obviously hurt him a bit too. </p>
<p>“Rhodey, come on-” You try to get involved, to stop him from just dismissing Tony completely. He didn’t even have the chance to tell you what he was working on yet. </p>
<p>He turns to face you. “And you need to not influence him right now.” </p>
<p>This felt like a slap to the face. You’re so stunned that you can’t even find a reply. He was insinuating that you were <i><b>taking advantage of Tony.</b></i> Using his experience and, what he perceived to be, weakened state of mind to get him to stop making weapons. How could he ever think that? Especially since you of all people understand what Tony went through.</p>
<p>Rhodey turns back to Tony, whose smile had faded and a more dangerous air had taken hold. “I’m serious.”</p>
<p>“Ok.” Barely spoken loud enough to hear. <i>Hurt</i> and <i>rejection</i> shining through with a little <i>anger</i> thrown in. </p>
<p>Rhodey stares him down for a second. ”It was nice seeing you, Tony.” He gives you a bare nod and walks away.</p>
<p>“Thanks.” Tony says this so quietly you barely catch it. The afterthought is clearly implied though. <i>For nothing.</i> He turns to you. “Let’s go.”</p>
<p>You nod and follow him out silently, not only drowning in your own hurt, but his as well.</p><hr/>
<p>The car ride home had been silent, both of you sat stewing in what Rhodey had said. His emotions amplified your own, putting you in a heavy downtrodden mood. One that didn’t break even when he parked the car in the garage and the two of you got out and headed into the workshop with a cheerful greeting from JARVIS. “Welcome home, sir, ma’am.”</p>
<p>“Thanks, JARVIS.” You mumble out half-heartedly. You watch Tony as he heavily sits onto a chair, still preoccupied by his mind. You pull a chair up beside him and decide to try to break him out of it. “What are you working on?” He had seemed pretty excited about it earlier, maybe talking about it will renew that sense of fire. </p>
<p>He sighs, sits straighter and looks at you for a long moment. “Nothing important.” Turning away from you then. Closing himself off, even seeming to lock down his emotions. Like he was hiding from you.</p>
<p>“Right. That’s why we drove an hour to see Rhodey so you could tell us about it.” You move to stand in front of him again, crossing your arms. His eyes lock with yours. A fire burning behind them.</p>
<p>“Well, you saw how that went.” He stands and walks past you, heading towards the stairs.</p>
<p>“I can help you.” With more than just his new project. Something was eating at him, something that didn’t have to do with Rhodey’s rejection. </p>
<p>He spins to look at you, arms crossed, scrutinizing you with narrowed eyes. “You wouldn’t understand.”</p>
<p>“I stopped making weapons after-” You couldn’t bring yourself to say the words <i>after I watched you get blown up by our own weapon.</i> “After what happened.” Settling on that instead with a hard swallow. Reminding him <i><b>you were there too.</b></i> After a long pause. “I think I’m the only one who does understand, Tony.” </p>
<p>Letting him know you understood everything. Why he pulled out of weapons. Why Rhodey’s reaction hurt. What he went through. What he saw. Having something life-changing forced onto you. He might not have told you exactly what happened yet, and it wasn’t exactly what you went through, but you still <i>understood.</i> You went through something similar. You were there when your weapons killed innocent soldiers. </p>
<p>He softens, uncrosses his arms, and walks back over to you. Realizing that <i>yes</i>, you were the only one who could understand. He puts his hands on your arms gently. “I’ll show you what I’m working on when I have more of an idea layed out. Alright?” </p>
<p>You know that he’s decided to keep it from you, going to work on it <i>alone.</i> Pushing you away. You nod reluctantly. “Alright.” He gives you a little squeeze and turns away again. Exiting the workshop, leaving you standing there alone. <i>Useless.</i></p><hr/>
<p>“Fuck.” You groan out as your physical therapist, Grace, stretches your knee out. Brace free. At least for the session. A much less cumbersome brace would be going on after, a simple compression sleeve rather than the hinged one you had worn for a month and a half now.  </p>
<p>“If this is all it took for you to make those sounds, I would have shattered your kneecap myself.” Tony, having kept his promise of being here, says from his seat beside you. You had honestly been surprised when you had come downstairs to leave for your appointment that he was standing there waiting for you. He had pretty much locked himself in the lab for the last two weeks, and still had yet to tell you what he was working on. Even when you were down there with him, working on your own secret project. His birthday present in fact, which was coming up in nine days. </p>
<p>You turn your head to glare at him. Even if he was just trying to distract you from the pain. “Not funny.”</p>
<p>He raises his hands in defeat. But the mischievous smirk gives his amusement away. “Whatever you say.”</p>
<p>Soon enough, you find yourself leaning heavily against Tony as you limped along on a very sore knee. Super strength or not, it hurts like hell. You were suddenly very grateful for his steady and strong presence holding you. He keeps his arm wrapped tightly around you as he helps you to the car. </p>
<p>You slide in after giving a brief greeting to Happy. Tony slides in next to you and you immediately lean your head on his shoulder, completely exhausted. It was nice to finally relax after all the strain. “Thank you for being here.”</p>
<p>He drops a kiss onto the top of your head. The action brings a content smile to your face. Both of you radiating the feeling. “Always.”</p>
<p>Happy’s voice breaks the bubble the two of you found yourselves in. “Mr. Stane is at the mansion waiting to talk to you.”</p>
<p>Tony sighs. “Great. What’d I do now?”</p>
<p>“Not you, boss.”</p>
<p>“<i>Fantastic.</i> Just who I wanted to talk to today.” You say this as flatly as you can. In no way looking forward to seeing him. What could he possibly have to talk to you about?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Rhodey, come on man. Why did you have to be like that? Not cool.</p>
<p>Wonder what Obadiah came to talk to Ace about? ;)</p>
<p>Sorry for no chapter yesterday! My head was killing me all day, and into today as well. Which is why this chapter is out so late. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow to see what is causing all my headaches (daily for almost a year now.). So, probably no chapter tomorrow either.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0040"><h2>40. Chapter 40</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“There she is! The woman of the hour!” Obi’s voice rings out as soon as you step into the door. He had been waiting to pounce, literally standing in the entryway upon your entrance. He slings an arm around your shoulders, pulling you away from Tony and forcing you to put all your weight back onto your knee drawing a wince from you. “A little birdie told me that you were finally getting that brace off today.”</p><p>Completely confused, and wondering why he was putting weight on you when you knew that, you can't do anything but limp along as Obi directs you into the living room. He had been beyond pissed the last time you spoke, unafraid to show it too. But now? He seemed <i>happy</i>. Joyful. Animated. But again, that <i>anger</i> sat underneath. All of his actions were always two-faced.</p><p>“Who told you that?” Settling onto a couch, glad to be off your knee again. You watch Tony slink off to the workshop. Great, no buffer.</p><p>“Doesn’t matter.” Obi waves his hand dismissively and settles next to you. He puts his arm over the back of the couch and leans in a little too close for comfort.  “What does matter though, is the fact that you’re up and about now. It’s time for you to get back to work.” You weren’t expecting that. You had honestly been ready to work months ago, even when you were still in your cast. He was the one who insisted you take some time off. But <i>now</i> he wants you to work? You weren't against the idea, it was just weird. Especially since he had seemed so against the idea when you first refused to make weapons. Maybe now that Tony shut down weapon manufacturing he was wanting you to get back to work on the medical side of things? That makes sense. It would also explain why he was suddenly playing nice again. “I was thinking that we should put you in a more administrative position. It would be good for you to start participating in meetings. It would show a united front after all the rumors that have floated around the last few months.” </p><p>Another surprise. You had always refused a more involved position in the past, much to Tony’s chagrin, because of your shyness. The highest you wanted to go was heading the medical division, it was easy to slip under the radar. Meetings were few and far between. But now, you had been learning to be more confident ever since your first trip to Afghanistan. It had taught you to stand up for <i>yourself</i>. Malik and Amir had taught you to stand up for <i>others.</i> Fatima had told you to <i><b>stay strong.</b></i> So, you will. Plus, he was right. The media had been going after you like hounds to a bone, this would show them you weren’t afraid.  “I’ll do it.”</p><p>First <i>surprise</i> then <i>happy relief</i> winds through Obi. But something <i>dark</i> twists underneath. Nearly throwing you for a loop. What is he up to? A smile lights up his face. “Perfect! There’s a meeting in New York soon that I need you to attend.”</p>
<hr/><p>“What’d Obi want?” Tony questions when you key open the glass door. You had finally managed to escape all of the corporate talk and hobbled your way down to the lab, ice pack in hand for your knee. You settle onto the couch, remove your compression sleeve, and put the ice on your knee. </p><p>“He wants me to start going to meetings, have a more integral role in the company.” You were going to be much more hands-on than in the past, not unlike Obi in his position. Not quite as much power as he had though. Still mainly focused on the medical division too. You were fine with that.</p><p>“And?” Tony prompts you to continue, anticipating your answer.</p><p>“And, I agreed.”</p><p><i>Surprise</i> rings in him as he looks up sharply at you. “Seriously?”</p><p>“Well, after he runs it by you. Yeah.”</p><p>“No need. That’s great!.” He grins at you and sets whatever he was working on down. “I’ve only been trying to convince you since I took over the company.”</p><p>That was true. He had always wanted to get you a high-level position in his company, pestered you for years about it. He had stopped after you were captured, something you were glad about. You would have continued to say no, until now at least. “I’m ready now.” Strong and sure.</p><p>Something pings in him. The tiniest shred of <i>lust.</i> But it’s quickly overpowered by that unnamed <i>warmth.</i> “I gotta tell you, this confidence you have is really doing it for me.”</p><p>Your face heats up considerably. When had he started to feel like <i>that</i> towards you? You let your head fall back on the armrest of the couch and bring an arm up to hide your face. Trying to hide how much the comment, especially combined with the feeling, affected you.</p><p>A sudden metal clang startles you. You shoot up and look towards where the sound originated to see a sheepish Tony standing next to some scraps on the ground. “Sorry.” You let yourself fall back down and try to ease your quickly beating heart and racing breathes. You squeeze your eyes shut tight as you attempt to fight off the memories. </p><p><i>The whips.</i><br/>
<i>The fists.</i><br/>
<i>The needles.</i><br/>
<i>The pain.</i><br/>
<i>The fear. <b>So much fea-</b></i></p><p>Your eyes tear open when a hand settles on your shoulder. <i>When had you sat back up?</i> Your arm flings out to the side in a strike, but whoever it was meant to connect with expertly dodges it. You look up. Your eyes lock with Tony’s. The pain and fear you felt tearing you apart reflected in them. “Hey, take a breath.” His voice is muffled, almost like he was talking through water. “Come on, honey. Breathe.” He makes an exaggerated breathing motion, beckoning you to follow. You eventually manage to get your breathing under control and your heart follows suit, slowing down to a reasonable pattern. </p><p>Embarrassment starts to color you. An episode like that hadn’t happened since the plane ride to Afghanistan with Tony. At least around someone else. And since Tony had gotten back, the nightmares had calmed down again. There was no reason you should have reacted that badly, and yet… “I’m sorry.”</p><p>He shakes his head, rubbing his hand up and down your arm soothingly. “Don’t apologise.”</p><p>Something else registers then. He was able to help you. Last time he hadn’t known what to do, he had to get Rhodey for help. But this time it seemed like he just took charge. Knew exactly what to do. “How did you…?” </p><p>He smiles softly at you and moves to sit next to you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. “I read up on panic attacks after what happened on the plane. I didn’t like not knowing what to do. Completely unlike me.”</p><p>You smile at his small attempt to lighten the situation. You rest your head on his shoulder and close your eyes. Relaxing against him, letting his strength flow into you. “Thank you.” He gives a bare hum of acknowledgement and rests his head against yours. After a while of silence. “Did you call me <i>honey?</i>”</p><p>He tenses for a second before relaxing with a laugh. “Yeah. I guess I did. Must of slipped out.”</p><p>Right. A slip up. Of course.</p>
<hr/><p>Nine days later found you sneaking down to the workshop while Tony slept, brown package in hand. You had managed to finish Tony’s gift on time, and without him discovering it too soon. It was a display stand designed to hold his original arc reactor, the steel ring surrounding it had a sappy message engraved around it. All hand-made by you, except for the glass casing. And his arc reactor of course. </p><p>You key yourself in and make a beeline for his desk, ready to drop it off before you have to leave for the meeting Obi wanted you to attend. You hated missing Tony’s birthday, but it couldn’t be avoided. He wasn’t even really celebrating it this year, too preoccupied by whatever he had been working on and laying low like he had been told to do. It only made you feel worse for not being able to stay though. He deserved at least a little bit of a celebration after everything he went through recently.</p><p>You gently place the package on his desk in plain view. No note saying who it was from. He’d figure it out when he opens it. You glance over his desk and smile softly at the picture of the two of you he kept on it. It depicted you on the couch curled into his side, head on his chest, and both of his arms wrapped tightly around you. Your favorite part was the little bit of drool visible on the side of his mouth. You had first noticed the new addition when you returned from Afghanistan after your own kidnapping. He had added it while you were still missing, and it has stayed since you returned. The only other picture he kept on his desk was one of him and his father working on the 1932 Flathead roadster, only without the flames it now proudly donned. </p><p>“Well, well. What do we have here?” You spin around at the sudden voice to see a smirking Tony standing at the entrance. How you didn’t hear the door open, you don’t know. He steps further into the room towards you. “Sneaking around the workshop?”</p><p>“Nope, I was looking for you. I’m leaving soon and wanted to say bye.” Easy enough to lie. You had planned on going to wake him to say bye after you completed your little mission. That wasn’t going to happen now.</p><p>“Right. That’s why there’s a package on my desk that wasn’t there before I went to bed. I wonder why that is…” He walks closer to you, mischievous glint in his eyes. He playfully slaps his hand to his forehead. “Oh! That’s right! It’s my birthday. How could I forget?”</p><p>You roll your eyes and reach up to give him a squeezy hug when he stops in front of you. “Happy birthday, Tony.” </p><p>“Thank you.” He squeezes you back tightly before pulling back and asking with child-like excitement. “So, what’d you get me?”</p><p>“You’ll just have to see when you open it.” He immediately moves to go open it but you put a hand against his chest to stop him. “After I leave.”</p><p>He pouts. “Why can’t I open it now?”</p><p>“Because I said so.” You check the time. “I have to leave now anyway. I’ll be back tomorrow, birthday boy. Sorry I can’t stay and celebrate with you.” </p><p>You give him another hug and a kiss to his cheek. When you go to pull back he keeps you in his hold tightly. A little tinge of <i>worry</i> pops up. “It’s fine, just be careful.”</p><p>“I’ll be fine Tony. I’m only going to New York. Plus I have super strength, I can take care of myself.” You squeeze him extra tight for a second for emphasis. </p><p>He huffs out a laugh against you. “I always forget that tiny detail.” He presses a quick kiss onto the top of your head before releasing you.</p><p>“I’ll see you tomorrow.”</p><p>“See ya.”</p>
<hr/><p>Tony watches her leave and immediately heads to the brown package on his desk once she’s out of sight. His curiosity peaks as he notices the slight weight of the box, more than he thought it’d be. He carefully begins to unwrap the package revealing glass. He furrows his brows as he keeps unwrapping the package. An amused grin takes over his lips as he completely reveals his old arc reactor encased in glass, proudly being displayed on a small stand. He smiles softly as he reads the words engraved around the arc reactor. </p><p>
  <i>
    <b>PROOF THAT TONY STARK HAS A HEART</b>
  </i>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm back! I'm going to try to update every Mon, Wed, and Fri. There will definitely be a chapter every Friday at the very least. </p><p>Anyone wondering what Obi has planned for Ace? I would love any thoughts on the chapter!</p><p>Also, I'm on Tumblr if anyone would like to interact with me outside of AO3. I don't post anything (cause I'm shy af and even this is a stretch for me lmao) but I would love to talk with y'all. About anything and everything :3 @Amanda-Wilkie https://amanda-wilkie.tumblr.com</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0041"><h2>41. Chapter 41</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The flight to New York was completely anxiety-ridden. You spent the flight making your appearance as immaculate as possible. With Pepper’s help the day before, you had decided on a simple black pencil skirt, matching blazer, and white blouse paired with black heels. You were attempting to appear as professional as possible, regardless of your hatred for heels and skirts. You already knew your knee was going to be absolutely killing you by the end of the day, but this was going to be your first big business meeting. From watching Tony you know that you have to make your first steps into this world as confidently as possible, otherwise you risk letting others walk all over you. </p><p>So now you are standing in the elevator on your way to the conference room taking deep breaths to soothe your nerves. Mind running through all the advice Tony has given you over the years. <i>Don’t be afraid of eye contact. A handshake acts as both a way to show respect and insert dominance. Keep your grip firm. Dance around them, don’t let them dance around you. Don’t underestimate anyone.</i> Tony may not act like it all the time, but he is a fierce businessman and knows how to work a room. </p><p>The ding of the elevator brings you out of your thoughts. You step into the hall and find your way to the conference room, stopping in front of the door to take one final breather. After a moment of quelling your thoughts, you grasp the handle and push the door open. It was only a meeting with union representatives, how bad could it be?</p>
<hr/><p>“Yet neither Mr. Stark nor Mr. Stane felt it necessary to come themselves. Instead, they sent their glorified secretary to do the job.”</p><p>The answer is bad. Very bad. The two representatives you were meeting with, Adrian Cooper and Dallas Riley, held absolutely no respect for you. Cooper was tall, dark-haired, and stood with a rigid posture; Riley was almost his complete opposite with white hair, short stature, and seemed less strict about keeping a straight back. However, both held the same superior air about them. Even after making sure you held eye contact, carried yourself tall, and gave firm handshakes. They were just filled to the brim with <i>contempt</i> and <i>agitation</i> from the start. There was no winning them over. </p><p>“While neither of them can be here today, I can assure you that ensuring all the factory workers keep their jobs after Mr. Stark’s announcement is a priority. The new direction for the company will still require the factories and their employees.” You meet Mr. Cooper’s cold green eyes as you speak. Voice remaining calm and steady, not allowing an ounce of the anger or nervousness you feel to shine through. Despite being blatantly insulted, retaliation would only make the situation worse. </p><p>“What exactly is that new direction?” Riley, who had remained rather quiet until this point, spoke up. He wasn’t as outright rude as Cooper, probably due to his more advanced age and experience, but his voice still came out rather condescending. </p><p>“Mr. Stark is considering pursuing clean energy as well as expanding the medical and agricultural divisions of Stark Industries. He is also prepared to continue providing full pay to all employees during the transition.” You and Tony had actually had a nice discussion about this when you asked him what he wanted you to say. </p><p>
  <i>“Tony, I need to talk to you real quick.” </i>
</p><p>
  <i>He drops whatever he was working on and spins to face you immediately. He can tell from your voice that it’s something serious. “What’s up?”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“The meeting Obi wants me to attend is to speak with the union representatives regarding you shutting down the weapon manufacturing. They’re worried all the employees are going to lose their jobs working in the factories. Obi wants me to only provide vague answers and avoid giving any guarantees.” He makes a face at that so you continue. “Yeah, I didn’t like that either. So, I thought I should come and get your opinion. It is your company and your employees after all.”</i>
</p><p><i>“Brilliant observation, it is indeed my name on the side of the building.” You roll your eyes and open your mouth for a snarky response but he doesn’t let you speak. “Let me continue. That is precisely the reason why I <b>can</b> and <b>will</b> give guarantees. No one is going to be going hungry under my watch. No one will lose their job. I’m making sure of it.”</i> </p><p>
  <i>You smile softly. Despite being an arrogant billionaire, Tony has a heart of gold. He cares about all of his employees, from the top researchers in R&amp;D down to the warehouse forklift operators. You pull a stool up and sit next to him. “Alright, tell me your plans.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>He seems to light up at the idea of someone actually wanting to know his plans. Everyone else seemed to always brush him off or tell him he needs time before he makes big decisions. “I’m not too sure yet, but I’m thinking about taking another look into arc reactor technology and…”</i>
</p><p>“He is?” You’re pulled from your thoughts by Riley’s voice. Both of the men are colored with <i>surprise</i>, perhaps surprised that Tony actually cares. </p><p>You give a sharp, firm nod. “Yes. He understands the concerns that have been raised due to the sudden nature of his decision and is taking care of any repercussions caused by it.” </p><p>Finally, the two men relax enough to be cordial for the rest of the meeting. It ended with both parties pleased with the outcome. No one will lose their jobs or go without pay during Stark Industries’ transition out of manufacturing weapons. Your first big meeting ended successfully despite its rocky beginning.</p>
<hr/><p>The first thing you do when you finally leave the stuffy office building is take a big breath of fresh air. Your nerves were still a little wound up and you were exhausted. Meetings for an introvert are not fun.</p><p>The second you see your car pull up you hop in and relax into the seat. After a brief greeting with your driver, you set off. Pulling out your phone you scroll through your, admittedly short, list of contacts until you see Tony’s name. You hit dial and lean back against the seat. He picks up after two rings.</p><p><i>“Hey Mousey, how’d it go?”</i> You roll your eyes at the teasing name but can’t stop the small smile from forming on your face. Of course he makes you feel instantly better.</p><p>“Hey Tony, it went good. Well, it ended good. They were really rude and disrespectful in the beginning but settled down after I told them some of what you have planned. They seemed really happy by the end.” </p><p>
  <i>“That’s my girl! I knew you’d do great.”</i>
</p><p>You rub your eyes with one hand trying to get rid of the tiredness residing in them. As well as tamping down the blush his words caused. Even if he can't see it. “All I did was relay what you told me.”</p><p><i>“You did more than that. You sat there and looked pretty too.”</i> He says teasingly. You snort before you hear him yelling. <i>“No, don’t do that! Put it down!”</i> DUM-E or U must be acting up.</p><p>“I’ll let you deal with your misfit bots. Bye Tony.”</p><p><i>“Bye, text me when you get to the hotel. Get some rest, you sound terri- DUM-E I said to put it down! I swear I’m gonna donate you-”</i> The line cuts out leaving you laughing quietly to yourself at the ridiculousness. </p><p>Deciding to heed his advice, you settle against the window and close your eyes. The emotions of the day, not only your own but Riley and Cooper’s as well, left you drained. A nap on the way to the hotel is not a bad idea.</p>
<hr/><p>You’re soon woken up by your door being pulled open roughly causing you to nearly fall out if it weren’t for your seatbelt holding you up. Half asleep and confused you look up but freeze when your eyes meet with the barrel of a gun. Suddenly you're much more awake. With your heart pounding in your ears you look to the owner of the gun and your eyes meet green ones belonging to someone hidden beneath a ski mask. “Get out.”</p><p>You swallow and steal a quick glance towards the front seat, only to see it vacant of the driver. You look back towards the man holding you at gunpoint and slowly unbuckle your seatbelt. The second it’s undone a hand shoots out and grabs your shoulder, yanking you out and onto the ground harshly. You land face first and barely catch yourself before you slam into the concrete. You go to sit up but the cold barrel of the gun gets pressed into your head. You freeze in place then slowly lay flat with your arms above your head. Someone kicks your bad knee and you barely hold back the cry of pain by clenching your jaw painfully hard.</p><p>“You try anything or resist, I'll put a bullet in your head. Be a good girl and stay quiet.” You resist the urge to reply. A new pair of hands roughly grab your wrists and pull your arms behind your back before handcuffing you. Not zip-ties or rope, actual handcuffs. These people came prepared. The second pair of hands leave your own and the man holding the gun shifts to grab ahold of you, all the while keeping the gun pressed against your head.</p><p>You’re hauled to your feet by your bound arms, feeling your shoulders pull painfully from the angle and force. You look up to see two other men in front of you. One was in the process of pulling a ski mask on. Your driver. Trying to make it seem like you weren’t terrified you say in the driest voice possible. “Don’t you think posing as the driver is a little cliche?”</p><p>You instantly know you made a mistake as a flare of <i>anger</i> makes its way toward you from the target of your comment. He turns and marches right up to you. Oops. Before you could even blink pain blooms from your right cheek followed by the feeling of oozing blood. You look down to see the gun in his hand. He pistol-whipped you. “Shut the fuck up. If we weren’t told to do this quietly I would have shot you right here.”</p><p>Suddenly, something whistles by your ear followed by the sickening sound of something sinking into flesh. The pressure of the gun against your back disappears as the unmistakable sound of a body hitting the ground fills the previously silent alley. The three of you turn in almost perfect sync to see the man laying on the ground. With an <i><b>arrow</b></i> in his chest. <i>Shock</i> floods through all three of you simultaneously as you all stand there staring for a good ten seconds. Luckily, you snap out of it before the other two and react quickly. A burst of adrenaline flows through you before you easily snap the handcuffs. </p><p>Immediately reaching out for the one who posed as your driver, you grasp him by his neck and fling him to the side. He hits the side of one of the buildings to the right with a loud thud. Only now did you realize you were in a dark alley somewhere. You spare the now limp form a glance before turning to advance on the person left standing. Unfortunately, the man had the same idea. You turn in time to see a fist right before it connects to your left eye, sending you stumbling back a step more from the surprise rather than the force of the hit.</p><p>Gathering your senses and stomping down the fear raging inside of you, you resettle your eyesight on the man. You freeze. A gun is aimed right at you. Time seems to slow as you see his finger flex, preparing to fire. You close your eyes as the loud bang rings out. However, instead of a blossoming pain in your chest like you expected all you feel is a burning in your right arm. </p><p>You open your eyes to see the man lying on the ground, another arrow embedded deep in his chest. The pain in your arm draws your eyes to it. A deep red gash stares at you from your tricep. The bullet must have grazed you. You bring your eyes back up to the body laying on the ground and stare at the arrow confused. Someone shot down two people. Your eyes widen in panic as you realize you’re out in the open, they could shoot you next.</p><p>A noise behind you makes you spin around, only to freeze seeing a man standing there. He’s wearing all black with a bow in his hand, a quiver resting on his back. He’s clearly the one who shot the men who tried to kidnap you. He takes a step forward and you immediately tense, ready to fight. Taking an arrow or two shouldn’t stop you from getting to him at this distance. He stops and raises his hands placatingly. You relax a little when you feel <i>concern</i> coming from him, no anger or hatred. You look up into his surprisingly kind blue eyes. “Who are you?”</p><p>“Agent Coulson sent me.” The instant the name leaves his lips all your tensed muscles relax. The pain in your knee suddenly makes its presence known so you lean heavily on your other leg. He takes a step towards you now that you’ve visibly relaxed and holds his hand out offering a handshake and an introduction. “Clint Barton.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The only excuse I have for not posting on Monday is that I didn't realize it was Monday until it was Tuesday... *facepalms*</p><p>Anywayyyy, thoughts? Didn't see that one coming, did ya?</p><p>I honestly don't know how to feel about this chapter, it was really hard for me to write for some reason. Took me 10x as long as normal. </p><p>Tumblr: Amanda-Wilkie</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0042"><h2>42. chapter 42</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You winced slightly as Agent Barton cleaned the bullet graze. You were currently in your hotel room after he basically saved your life. You were resting on the bed with a make-shift ice pack on your knee, holding another to the right side of your face with your left hand, and the hotel’s first-aid kit spread across the sheets. You had your back against the headboard with your head leaning back against it and your eyes closed. </p><p>“Thank you.” You croaked out. Those were the first words spoken between you since he had introduced himself, helped you into his car, and took you to your hotel. Up until now you were still raging with a weird mixture of adrenaline and exhaustion, it had made you unnecessarily tense and stoic around your savior. He seemed to have sensed it and stayed silent, something you were thankful for. The night had been long, some silence was needed to get your thoughts working again.</p><p>His hands pause in their cleaning. “Just doing my job. Coulson got wind of a possible assassination attempt, and since I was the closest agent he sent me to watch over you.” </p><p>“I’m sure your job doesn’t include patching me up.” You finally remove the ice pack from your face and examine the graze. You sigh heavily. “I’m definitely gonna need stitches.”</p><p>“Afraid so.” He rummages around the supplies dumped over the bed until he finds a needle and suture thread. He then starts to rip open an alcohol wipe and you immediately reach out to stop him with your good arm. He looks up at you slightly amused. “Don’t worry, doc. I’ve done this before.”</p><p>“That’s not what I’m worried about. You can’t use any alcohol. I’m allergic. I break out in hives.” Temporary paralysis, hives, what’s the difference?</p><p>He furrows his brows in confusion. “I’ve never heard of anyone being allergic to alcohol before.” </p><p>“I didn’t either until I broke out in hives when I drank it. Thought it might have been a one time thing, maybe something in the drink, until I drank another brand and the same thing happened.” Expanding the story a bit to try to make it more believable. It seemed to work as he shrugged and dropped the wipe, instead pulling a lighter out and sterilizing the needle in the flame. Before he starts to put in the stitches you look at him, just now realizing what he called you. “Doc?”</p><p>“You have two PhDs. One being Biological and Medical Sciences.” </p><p>“Yeah, it’s just weird.” Only Tony had ever called you doc after you got your first PhD, and that was only jokingly. You never made people refer to you as doctor. It made you feel too uptight. </p><p>“Seemed fitting. Now hold still.”  You stay as still as possible while Agent Barton stitches you up. You honestly would have fallen asleep if it wasn’t for the pinch and pull from each stitch. Soon enough he was all done and wrapping some gauze around your upper arm to keep it clean. </p><p>“Thank you, again.” He nods in acknowledgement before standing up. He cleans up all the garbage and throws all the unused supplies back into the first-aid kit. When he’s done cleaning up he turns back to you while picking up his discarded bow and quiver.</p><p>“You know, learning how to properly fight wouldn’t be a bad idea. With some training you’d make a great SHIELD agent. You could have handled those three all by yourself easily.” </p><p>Surprised it takes you a moment to respond. “I’m perfectly content staying at Stark Industries.” But he does have a point. If you knew how to disarm those people you wouldn’t have needed him to come save you. Learning proper techniques is not a bad idea at all. Super strength can only do so much without the skill to back it up.</p><p>He nods and heads to the door. “Try not to let yourself get killed.” With those as his parting words he shuts the door behind him, leaving you to ponder the night’s events alone.</p><p>The men who attacked you were way too prepared and seemed to know exactly who they were dealing with. It was a planned and organised attack. That means someone had given them your schedule, and let them know your weakness if the kick to your knee says anything. The only ones with that knowledge are Tony, Happy, Pepper, and Obi.</p><p><i>Obi.</i> He was adamant about you being the one attending the meeting here in New York. He’s the one who got you across the country and away from anyone who cares about you. He even made sure Happy had other duties to attend to so he couldn’t come with you. He has to be the one behind the attack. But <i>why?</i> You’ve never gotten along, and he always seems <i>angry</i> lately, but would he really stoop to this level? Would he really try to have you killed?</p><p>Suddenly it makes sense. The incessant anger that spiked whenever he looked at you. The digging around in Tony’s lab after he was kidnapped. The locking you out. The lack of happiness when Tony came home. The absolute fiery <i>rage</i> when he shut down the weapons division. Everything seemed to slide into place like a puzzle. <i>Obi is behind <b>everything.</b></i></p>
<hr/><p>Waking up the next morning felt similar to waking up after a hangover, something you haven’t experienced in years. Everything is sore and stiff, your head is pounding, and it feels like you need a month’s supply of water. You go to stretch but groan in pain when your knee throbs with pain. That kick definitely put you back a couple weeks with your physical therapy. You open your eyes and roll over towards your phone on the nightstand. You turn the screen on to see about a hundred notifications, all missed calls or texts from Tony. You had forgotten to text him when you got to the hotel.</p><p>Sighing, you sit up and call him, preparing to be yelled at. He picks up immediately. <i>“Where the fuck have you been?! I have been trying to reach you for hours!”</i></p><p>“Sleeping. Yesterday was a long day-” Understatement of the century. “-I forgot to text you before going to sleep. Sorry if I worried you.” You know he was really worried. Ever since you had gotten kidnapped he had been overprotective, and it only worsened after he was kidnapped too. Showing up looking like you had gotten beat, and to be fair you did receive a couple of hard hits yesterday but you were sure you looked worse than you actually felt, will give him a heart attack. </p><p>He sighs heavily <i>“You can’t do that to me. You know I have a heart condition.”</i></p><p>You roll your eyes. He certainly will when he sees you. You lean forward in a hunch and rub your eyes with your free hand. “Why didn’t you track the anklet?”</p><p>
  <i>“I tried. You left it here, it was sitting on your bathroom counter.” </i>
</p><p>You sigh in frustration with yourself. The only time you ever take the anklet off is to shower, you must have forgotten to put it on when worrying about sneaking the present into the workshop. From now on you would just shower with it on. If Agent Barton hadn’t been there, it could have meant life or death. “Sorry, Tones. I guess I forgot to put it back on. It won’t happen again, I can promise you that.”</p><p>He’s silent for a moment before speaking in a slightly cautious tone. <i>“You ok? You sound terrible.”</i></p><p>“It was a long night.”</p><p>
  <i>“Did you get laid for once?”</i>
</p><p>“What? No!”</p><p>He lets out a big breath and mutters <i>“Oh, good.”</i></p><p>“What?”</p><p>
  <i>“Nothing. If you didn’t get laid, why was your night long?”</i>
</p><p>“I’ll show you when I get home. We need to talk.” Telling him about the attack or your suspicions with Obi over the phone is the last thing you want to do. Your head hurt too much already.</p><p>
  <i>“That’s never good. Happy will be at the airport to pick you up. See you when you get here.”</i>
</p><p>“Yup. See ya.”</p>
<hr/><p>After a hot shower, some make-up over your eye and cheek, sunglasses thrown on to further hide your eye, a very attentive and tense ride to the airport, and a 6 hour flight you finally spy the safety and relief of Happy standing outside of a shiny black car. He perks up at the sight of you but then immediately frowns while taking in your appearance. You admittedly looked horrible. Your hair was lazily thrown into a low ponytail, a baggie hoodie despite the warm weather, comfortable shorts, sunglasses, and not to mention the very visible cut on your cheek. You may have been able to mostly hide the nasty bruise the pistol had caused, but the cut was on full display. You were also limping much more than you had been when you left. </p><p>When you get close enough he speaks up, <i>concern</i> marring both his features and emotions. “I thought you were staying sober now?”</p><p>“I needed to relax after the meeting.” It was as good of an excuse as any. If he thought you were hungover you’d let him believe it. “Can we just go home please?”</p><p>He nods, the <i>concern</i> unwavering as he takes your bag and loads it into the car. You slide into the back, happy to be back off of your extremely sore knee. He soon hops into the driver’s seat, sends a text, and drives off, seeming to sense your need for quiet. You’re grateful for it. You need all the quiet possible before the bomb of a conversation waiting for you at home.</p>
<hr/><p>Surprisingly, Tony is waiting outside for you when you pull up to the mansion. When the car stops, he walks up to the door and pulls it open for you. You meet his gaze with a raised eyebrow as you slide out. His whole being is emanating <i>concern</i> and <i>worry.</i> </p><p>“Happy said you’re hungover.” His way of both a greeting and an explanation as to why he’s outside waiting. He knows you aren’t hungover. He knows you can’t drink. Unless you want to be temporarily paralyzed. His face is contorted into concern as his gaze sweeps over you before settling on the cut on your cheek. He steps closer to you and lowers his voice so Happy can’t hear him. “What really happened?”</p><p>“That’s what we need to talk about. Privately.” He takes note of your serious tone and nods. </p><p>“We’ll talk in the garage.” He turns and gestures for you to walk ahead of him. With a quick goodbye to Happy, you walk inside with Tony on your heels. The walk down to the garage is filled with silence and the feeling of his eyes on your back. He’s obviously taking the time to study you and try to work out what happened, which is exactly why he decided to walk behind you. He disables the keypad behind him so no one can come in and follows you to the couch by the kitchenette. </p><p>As you settle on the couch he goes to the fridge, pulls out an ice pack, and tosses it to you. He comes to sit next to you, staring intently at you. “I’m guessing this is about your extra hobble and secret agent sunglasses.”</p><p>You nod, trying to find the words to begin the conversation. “Someone tried to kill me.”</p><p>His eyes widen almost comically. His <i>concern</i> nearly overwhelms you, followed by the <i>anger</i>. “What?! Are you ok? I’m gonna kill them.” </p><p>He leans forward trying to look you over for injuries, you stop him by gently grabbing his hands and holding them between you. Attempting to soothe him so you could focus. “I’m ok, Tony. A little banged up, but ok. An agent saved me. They caught wind of the attempt beforehand. You remember Agent Coulson?” He nods. “He’s the one who sent the agent.”</p><p>He’s quiet for a moment, studying you intently. “There’s something else you’re not saying. What else happened?” </p><p>You look away trying to get your thoughts in order. Gathering your courage you look back into his eyes. “I think Obi is the one behind it.” Preparing to deal the final blow. “And I think he’s the one behind your kidnapping too.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ace has finally put the pieces together! Woohoo! Now we'll see how Tony reacts to what she has to say next chapter. Should be interesting. </p><p>Clint didn't play a big role, just thought a little cameo would be nice. He is also the one to plant the seed in Ace's head that learning to fight is a pretty damn good idea. Especially with everything that has happened.</p><p>Thoughts?</p><p>Tumblr: Amanda-Wilkie</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0043"><h2>43. Chapter 43</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I’m sorry, <i>what?</i>”</p><p>Tony is staring at you in complete disbelief. His <i>shock</i> hitting you so intensely it made you stare dumbly back at him before you managed to push it aside and get your mouth to start working again. “I think Obi is-”</p><p>“No, no. I heard you loud and clear. I’m just trying to wrap my head around the absurdity of the words that left your mouth.” He stands up and begins pacing in front of the couch. He runs his hands through his previously slicked back hair as he paces. “You’re trying to tell me that the man who has helped me run my company for years, who was one of my father’s closest friends, tried to have you <i><b>murdered</b></i>? And had me <i><b>kidnapped</b></i>?”</p><p>You sigh heavily, letting the little bit of anger beginning to seep through from him fade away. Now was not the time to let any outside emotions affect you. “Tony, it makes sense. He’s the only common denominator with everything that has happened.” He stops his pacing to stare at you, silently urging you to continue. “Sending me across the country where I happened to be attacked-”</p><p>“That could be a coincidence. A crime of opportunity.” You can tell he’s trying so hard to deny the betrayal. He doesn’t want to believe Obi is capable of any harm. To be fair, neither do you. </p><p>You level him with a serious look. He didn’t know the details of the attack yet. He’ll agree it wasn’t a crime of opportunity once he does. “They were way too prepared for it to have been done on a whim. One of them posed as my driver. They had actual handcuffs. They seemed to know exactly who I was too, as well as my weakness.” You emphasize the point by gesturing to your iced knee. “It was planned, Tony.”</p><p>His jaw clenches and he nods. Just as predicted, he agrees. “What else?”</p><p>“He’s the one who sent both of us to Afghanistan where we also just happened to be attacked- he even <i>insisted</i> I go with you, the lack of shock when I told him that terrorists had our weapons, his flippant responses when it came to taking responsibility for said weapons, locking me out using medical leave as a cover when I refused to keep making weapons, the rumors about me after-”</p><p>Breaking his streak of tense concentration and silence he makes a stop motion with his hands. “Wait, What rumors?”</p><p>You sigh again. Out of everything you just listed, he had to focus on that? “People thought that I was involved in your kidnapping. The media, and others, to be honest, were quite... volatile. I was called a traitor. Hell, even Homeland came to investigate. They told me that Obi said I <i>wanted</i> to go to Afghanistan. Coulson took care of it for me, got me off the hook.”</p><p>He finally sits back down, now more subdued. He fixes you with a borderline sad look, his deep brown eyes looking into your soul. “Why didn’t you tell me?”</p><p>“Do you really think I wanted to tell you about petty rumors when you just got home from being kidnapped?”</p><p>He somehow finds the will for a soft smile. Proof that he’s always been the stronger one between the two of you.  “No, but I wish you did.”</p><p>“I wanted you to focus on healing. Still do.” You admit softly.</p><p>He nods. “Anything else?”</p><p>“What should have been the biggest and most obvious red flag for me, his incessant anger. Especially after you shut down the weapons division and when you first came back. He was never happy.”</p><p>He furrows his brows. “His anger?”</p><p>“Yeah, I have the sixth sense, remember?” He nods once again. “He’s <i>always</i> angry. Even when he isn’t outwardly showing it. It just simmers beneath the surface, like a bad itch. Always there. Sometimes it spikes.” You furrow your brows in thought, thinking back. “When you shut down weapon manufacturing his anger swelled into full on rage. <i>Fiery rage.</i> It was so overpowering that I felt like I couldn’t breathe.”</p><p>He drops his head into his hands, rubbing his face at the same time. “Do you have any proof about all of this?”</p><p>“No. It’s just a bunch of theories at this point. I may be wrong too. Obi and I have never really gotten along, but I don’t want to believe he’s capable of murder.” Even with all of the evidence it was hard to believe. Obi may be a hardass to you, but he’s never been outright violent. Angry, yelling with spit flying everywhere, but never violent. There’s 20 years of, what you could sort of call, friendship contradicting all of the evidence.</p><p>“He’s not. He’s Obi. The same man who shines his head in the mornings before going to the office. There’s no way…”  He trails off as he sighs and sits up to look at you again. “But, it’s not looking too good, is it?”</p><p>“It’s not looking good at all.” You adjust your position on the couch and wince when your knee emits a sharp pain at the action. Tony notices and pulls your legs into his lap, adjusting the ice pack he had given you back onto your knee after you were comfortable. “Thank you.”</p><p>“We’ll keep an eye on him. Keep your distance for now. Don’t go on any trips or to any meetings without Happy or I there to escort you.” You nod in agreement. After yesterday that was already floating around your head. As well as asking Happy for boxing lessons. “Now tell me more about the attack and let me look at your injuries. Don’t think you can hide them from me.”</p><p>Subject change. He’s done talking about Obi. That’s fine, you got everything out that you needed to anyway. The seed has been planted in his head. Hopefully if Obi does anything else, if he <i>is</i> the one behind everything, he makes a mistake. You and Tony would be ready to pounce on it. </p><p>You roll your eyes even if he can’t see behind the sunglasses you were still wearing. “Yes, father.”</p><p>“I prefer the term Daddy.” Tony winks at you. Despite him obviously teasing you, it horrifies you. That is <i>never</i> happening. </p><p>“Tony!” You reach out and slap him on his shoulder with your right arm, regretting it immediately when the stitches pull. However, his childish laughter distracts you from the pain and eventually drags you into laughter with him. That is certainly one way to lighten the mood.</p><p>“Come on, show Daddy your booboos!” Tony coos in a baby voice through his laughter.</p><p>“I swear I will leave this mansion if you refer to yourself as Daddy one more time.”</p><p>He snorts. “You won’t get very far with that bum knee.”</p><p>You give him a challenging glare. All laughter ceasing. “Try me.”</p><p>He chuckles. “Ok, ok. I won’t do it again. Just show me already.”</p><p>You pull off the sunglasses and close your eyes from the bright lights of the lab. The constant headache you've had since you woke up amplifies. You flinch a little when you feel a hand gently land on your cheek over the barely visible bruise. You open your eyes to see Tony gazing at you worriedly. His thumb gently strokes against the very edge of the bruise surrounding your eye. Even with make-up on it was fairly visible. You can’t imagine how bad it’ll be when you wash your face. “I put some make-up on to hide the bruises. I didn’t want to get stopped by airport security.”</p><p>“So it’s actually worse than it looks?”</p><p>You give him a crooked smirk. “I guess you could say that.”</p><p>“They got you pretty good, Ms. Super Strength.” He removes his hand and places it onto your leg just below your knee.</p><p>“You should see the other guy.” Your attempt at some humor falls flat.</p><p>“You said an agent saved you? Just how armed were these guys?” He obviously knows that guns had to be involved, otherwise you would have been able to get out of the situation yourself. Even with being untrained. </p><p>“At least two of the three had guns.” You offer a sly smile now. “I remembered what you said about not being able to fist fight bullets.”</p><p>He snorts. “That would have ended disastrously.”</p><p>“Yeah, one got too close as it is.”</p><p>His expression turns dark. “How close?”</p><p>You roll your sleeve up to show the gauze wrapped around your upper arm. “Just a graze. Needed a few stitches, nothing bad. The worst injury was when they kicked my knee.” </p><p>He relaxes a little. “Did you stitch yourself up?”</p><p>You shake your head. “Agent Barton was kind enough to patch me up.”</p><p>“Remind me to send him some thank you flowers.” He carefully shifts enough to reach over and pull you completely into his lap. His arms wrap around you as you snuggle into his chest, head falling into the crook of his neck. </p><p>“Do secret agents like flowers?” Now that his warmth surrounds you, the tiredness of traveling, the adrenaline rush during the attack, and not sleeping well the night before was catching up. You ended up just mumbling into his neck. </p><p>He chuckles softly. “I guess we’ll find out.”</p>
<hr/><p>You wake up very comfortable and warm. There’s only one issue, your knee is aching from the position it’s in. You try to turn over to your other side but stop when an arm tightens around your waist. You open your eyes to the welcomed sight of your bedroom. Tony must have carried you up once you fell asleep. Considering how hyper aware you are when asleep after your three year stint in Afghanistan, it was quite the feat for him to do it without waking you. Confusion sets in when you turn your head enough to see Tony’s mop of dark brown hair behind you, just now realizing the implications of the arm around you. He stayed after he carried you up?</p><p>As carefully as possible you manage to turn over. Relief floods you as you stretch your knee and relax back into Tony’s warmth. Only an idiot would pass up the chance to keep cuddling with Tony. The man acts as a heater, and makes an amazing pillow. His peaceful expression greets you when you look up into his face. You smile softly and bring a hand up to brush the hair off of his forehead. He sighs softly and leans into your touch in his sleep. The action causes a smile to grow on your face. You continue to stroke his hair lightly, loving the fluffiness of it but not wanting to wake him up. You stay stroking his hair and studying his peaceful face for a while. A sudden wave of that <i>warmth</i> that only comes from him confuses you.</p><p>“I could get used to this.” </p><p>You jump at the sound of his raspy voice causing him to chuckle. Of course he was awake. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.”</p><p>He stretches out before letting his arm drop back around your waist. He cracks his eyes open and smiles. “I don’t mind it.”</p><p>“Did you decide to stay after carrying me up here?”</p><p>“I didn’t have a choice. You wouldn’t let go of me.” He says with a broad smile. “Who knew it’s impossible to pry someone with super strength off of you.”</p><p>Well, that’s not embarrassing at all. A faint blush covers your cheeks. “Sorry.”</p><p>He shrugs and pulls you closer to him resting his chin on your head. You snuggle back into his chest contently. “Best sleep I’ve gotten in years.”</p><p>“Me too. You’re a great heater.”</p><p>“Is that all I am to you? A personal heater?”</p><p>“At the moment, yes.”</p><p>He rolls his eyes. “Good to know.”</p><p>You close your eyes and somehow snuggle even more into him. “I’m going back to sleep.”</p><p>“I need to pee.”</p><p>“I don’t care.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Is it wise for Tony and Ace to be in denial about Obi? No. Is it wise for them to "just keep an eye on him" but not actually do anything? No. Are they still gonna do it? Yes. *facepalms*</p><p>Good news though, Tony is being more apparent in his feelings. Aww. thought y'all could use some fluff.</p><p>Also, I'm sorry for the late update. Technically it's Thursday my time now... but it's Wednesday somewhere. I had a busy day and this chapter took like 10 hours to write. Writer's block is a bitch.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0044"><h2>44. Chapter 44</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After the conversation with Tony about Obi almost nothing changed. You definitely avoided Obi as much as possible, and never went anywhere without Happy, but life continued on just like before. While Tony mainly stayed down in the workshop working on whatever secret project he was so intently focused on, which he still refused to tell you about, you adjusted to your new heavily corporate based lifestyle. </p>
<p>Your days were now filled with many meetings; most of which seemed like busy work, dodging in person meetings with Obi by opting to communicate with him strictly via email, working with Pepper to cover some of Tony’s duties, as well as sticking your nose back into the R&amp;D side of things. It was so different from what you used to do, which was strictly engineering. You missed having time to just sit and tinker, but you felt more important and useful now. It was nice. Even if it didn't only consist of things you loved to do.</p>
<p>You have admittedly seen little of Tony the last couple of months. Whenever you aren’t working you tend to sit on the balcony to decompress from the day. It was still your favorite place to relax, the open air is something you’ll never get enough of after being forced to live in a cave for years. Tony would sometimes join you, and usually ate dinner with you, but he mostly stuck to the basement. Sometimes you’d join him down there too while you worked from home, and even tried to get a peek of what he was working on, but he seemed to work on the blueprints rather than the project itself whenever you did go down there. It hurt a bit that he was keeping it away from you.</p>
<p>You know Rhodey is somewhat to blame for his secrecy. You have yet to forgive him for both his reaction to Tony telling him it wasn’t for the military and the accusatory words he spat at you. He left a bad taste in both yours and Tony’s mouths. Despite your open support of his decision to stop making weapons, and your obvious curiosity, Tony seemed to think you’d react adversely to his project. So, you stopped joining him and opted to let him choose to join you instead. He seemed to pick up on it after about a month and his trips upstairs to be with you seemed to become more frequent. It was nice that he put in the effort. </p>
<p>All of the injuries you got from the attack healed perfectly, no lasting damage and only a faint scar on your tricep from the bullet graze. Your knee was finally doing better too. You still had bad days, especially when it was raining, but the good days outnumbered the bad now. You couldn’t walk for super long periods of time, but it was back to the way it was before the bomb for the most part. It was nice to not be at the constant mercy of a pained knee.</p>
<p>Your birthday was coming up real soon, and you were hoping to take the day off to relax and catch up on sleep. Your nightmares had decided to make an appearance once again. They weren’t too bad, most of the time you don’t even remember them, but they were just enough to make you sleep restlessly. You slept somewhat normal amounts of time, but the hours were filled with tossing and turning rather than good rest. That combined with your busy schedule left you constantly tired. </p>
<p>For now, you have to suck it up and focus on your work. This meant you were currently in the living room answering emails after a long day. You were resting on the couch with a laptop balancing on your knees. Pepper was sitting on the other side of the couch, equally as absorbed in work as you are. Despite hearing the front door open, your eyes remained glued to the screen reading an email about a small tech company focused on developing smart glasses wanting to partner with Stark Industries. Why they tried to contact you about it rather than Tony or Obi is beyond you. Partnerships aren’t part of your duties unless Obi sends you to meet with potential partners.</p>
<p>Pepper’s voice draws your attention away from your screen to look at her. “Mr. Stane, how was your trip to New York?” </p>
<p>You snap your head to look at the entryway, surprised to see Obi standing there holding a pizza box. His suit jacket was discarded somewhere, his sleeves rolled up his forearms, and tie loose around his neck. So much for avoiding him.  “It was fine, Ms. Potts. I brought Pizza, you ladies want some?” </p>
<p>“You brought pizza from New York? What’s the bad news?” He gives you an annoyed glance as he sets the box on the coffee table and moves over to the piano. You opt to not take a slice.</p>
<p>“Just because I brought pizza doesn’t mean I have bad news.”</p>
<p>“Right.” The driest response possible. You decide to ignore him and get back to reading the email.</p>
<p>He looks over to Pepper. “Is Tony downstairs?”</p>
<p>“Yes, I’ll call him up here.” She proceeds to buzz the intercom repeatedly, only to receive no response. The whole time Obi is calmly sitting at the piano playing music. Interestingly enough, his usual anger isn't there. He seems rather content at the moment.</p>
<p>You eventually sigh and move to stand up. “I’ll go get him.”</p>
<p>“Actually, I’d like to speak to you real quick. Ms. Potts can get him.” You sit back down, dreading being alone with him.</p>
<p>Pepper nods and stands up walking to the stairs. Both of you watch her disappear down them before turning to each other. “What do you need to talk about?”</p>
<p>He gets up and heads to the bar, pouring himself a drink. “I just wanted to let you know that I think you’re doing a fantastic job. You’ve adjusted really well to your new role.”</p>
<p>Surprised by his words you furrow your brows and say in a suspicious voice. “Thank you.”</p>
<p>He huffs out a patronizing laugh as he goes back to the piano with drink in hand. He sets the drink on the top of the piano and goes back to playing. “Don’t be so surprised. I’m capable of recognizing hard work when I see it.”</p>
<p>He seems so genuine. No anger, no deception. Just genuine praise. It’s weird. Something has him in a really good mood. Before you can find a reply, Pepper comes back up the steps. Your attention immediately turns to her, she seems a bit frazzled. She gives you a surprisingly hard look. “Do you know what he’s working on down there?”</p>
<p>Well, now you’re doubly confused. Apparently tonight was going to be filled with oddities. “No, he hasn’t told me a thing. What happened?”</p>
<p>She sighs and reclaims her spot on the couch. “Just some tech malfunction… I think.” Pepper’s words have you even more curious than before about what he’s working on. Definitely sounds like she got a good glimpse, malfunction or not. She looks over at Obi. “He’ll be up in a minute.”</p>
<p>A somewhat tense silence falls over the three of you. Obi continues playing the piano, Pepper goes back to typing on her laptop, and you sit there pretending to read emails again. Instead your thoughts are focused on Obi. This is the first time in a long time that he isn’t angry. What caused that anger to dissipate?</p>
<p>You look up to the steps as you hear Tony bounding up them. You lock eyes for a second before he turns his attention to Obi. “How’d it go?” Obi glances over at him with no response. Tony sighs as he walks over to you. “It went that bad, huh?”</p>
<p>Tony settles on the couch next to you, arm brushing yours. He reaches for the pizza as Obi speaks. “Just because I brought pizza back from New York doesn’t mean it went bad.”</p>
<p>“Uh huh. Sure doesn’t.” You smile slightly at his response. Tony reacted the same way to the pizza as you had. Obi thinks he isn’t as transparent as he really is.</p>
<p>He finally stops playing the piano. “It would have gone better if you were there.”</p>
<p>Tony takes a big bite of pizza and speaks with his mouth full. “Uh uh. You told me to lay low. That’s what I’ve been doing.” Obi stands up  and walks over towards Tony. “I lay low, and you take care of all the-”</p>
<p>“Hey, come on. In public. The press.” He comes to a stop directly next to Tony. “This was a board of directors meeting.” He settles himself down on a chair beside the couch.</p>
<p>“This was a board of directors meeting?” You almost want to knock Tony upside his head for playing dumb and acting shocked. Obi seems to agree with the sentiment if the exasperated look he gives Tony says anything.</p>
<p>“The board is claiming you have posttraumatic stress.” That quickly captures your attention. You snap your eyes onto Obi’s face. An odd sort of <i>glee</i> takes hold of him as he speaks his next words. “They’re filing an injunction.”</p>
<p>“A what?” Both you and Tony speak up. Your tone is much angrier than his though. What <i>bullshit.</i></p>
<p>“They want to lock you out.” </p>
<p>“The fuck they are!” You exclaim angrily. How could anyone think they could lock Tony out of his own company?</p>
<p>Tony glances at you before looking back at Obi. “Why? Cause the stocks dipped 40 points?” Now his <i>anger</i> makes an appearance. “We knew that was gonna happen.”</p>
<p>“56 and a half.” Pepper inputs unhelpfully from her spot where she has been listening quietly.</p>
<p>Tony’s voice raises a bit as he quickly looks at her. “It doesn’t matter. We own the controlling interest in the company.”</p>
<p>“Tony, the board has rights too.” Obi draws Tony’s attention back to him, speaking in a calm voice. “They’re making the case that you and your new direction isn’t in the company’s best interest.”</p>
<p>“I’m being responsible! That’s a new direction for me- for the company.” Obi gives him a disbelieving look with his eyebrows raised as he stutters slightly. Tony looks over at you almost like he wants some help. You just don’t have a clue as to how to provide any at the moment. “I mean, me on the company’s behalf being responsible for the way that-” He stops abruptly when he realizes he’s rambling, and not making any sense. He looks back over to Obi. “This is great.”</p>
<p>He stands up just as abruptly as he stopped his ramble. Obi tries to stop him. “Oh, come on. Tony. Tony.” </p>
<p>Tony grabs the pizza box and walks away quickly. “I’ll be in the shop.”</p>
<p>Obi stands up to follow him. “Hey, hey! Tony, listen.” Obi puts his hands on Tony’s shoulder to stop him. He reluctantly turns to face him. “I’m trying to turn this thing around, but you gotta give me something. Something to pitch them.” He points at the arc reactor sitting in Tony’s chest. “Let me have the engineers analyze that. You know, draw up some specs.”</p>
<p>“No.”</p>
<p>“It’ll give me a bone to throw-”</p>
<p>“No, absolutely not.”</p>
<p>“-the boys in New York!”</p>
<p>“This one stays with me. That’s it, Obi. Forget it.” Tony's tense tone leaves no room for argument.</p>
<p>Obi snatches the pizza box from his hands. That <i>anger</i> that was previously missing has taken back its proper place.  “All right, well, this stays with me then.” He seems to realize the slight slip and opens the box. “Go on, here, you can have a piece. Take two.”</p>
<p>“Thank you.” Tony tosses you a meaningful look that you quickly understand before he briskly walks toward the stairs. He wants to talk with you in private as soon as Obi leaves.</p>
<p>“You mind if I come down there and see what you’re doing?” Obi calls after him. </p>
<p>Tony tosses an irritated “Goodnight, Obi.” over his shoulder before disappearing down the steps.</p>
<p>Obi turns to look at you and Pepper, completely exasperated with Tony. You level him with a glare. “So, no bad news huh?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>We're finally getting into the real meat of Iron Man! About time, right? We finally got past everything I wanted to be covered before shit goes down. </p>
<p>This chapter was kind of fun to write. I liked Ace's reaction to locking Tony out. "The fuck they are!" She has the mouth of a sailor like I do lmao</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0045"><h2>45. chapter 45</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Obi didn’t stay long after the argument with Tony. Just long enough to finish his drink and say a brisk goodbye to you and Pepper. With him gone, you take the chance to head down to the workshop. The second you open the door Tony speaks up from his spot at a desk without looking up, working on what looks like a robotic arm. He’s still a little riled up from the conversation. “What’d you get from all that?”</p>
<p>“Happiness.” A good brief summary to start things off with.</p>
<p>He turns to look at you sharply and exclaims disbelievingly. “You’re <i>happy</i> about the injunction?”</p>
<p>“Did you <i>not</i> hear my reaction?” You drag a stool over to sit next to him with a slight glare fixed on your face. For being a genius that was a seriously stupid question. You eye the arm set up on the table, noticing the inside is hollow like it’s meant to be worn. When his expression doesn’t change you roll your eyes. “No, dipshit, I’m not happy. Obi is. First time in a while that he wasn’t angry… at least until the end of that oh so wonderful conversation.”</p>
<p>He drops the soldering iron he was using to rub a hand down his face in frustration. “Great. This is just great.” </p>
<p>“Obi might be the one who filed the injunction.” Tossing out the hard truth for him. Considering how happy Obi is about the injunction, he’s either behind it or he pushed another member of the board to do it for him. Either way, he’s involved.</p>
<p>He sighs heavily and drops his head into his hands. “That’s what it’s looking like.”</p>
<p>“It’s hard to believe that after all these years, after all of the things he’s done for you and the company, that he’d backstab you like that. It’s almost like he’s a completely different person than he used to be.” Obi wasn’t always like this. He used to be a somewhat decent human being. When you first met you didn’t have any problems with him, other than that he was overbearing with Tony. But over the years he’s gone downhill, your interactions deteriorated to nothing but forced pleasantries. Until that went away too.</p>
<p>“I know.”</p>
<p>Tony’s voice comes out more of a mumble than anything, his face still in his hands. The voice of a hurting man. You tear your gaze away from the arm and look at him carefully. It was time to steer the conversation away from Obi and focus it back onto the injunction itself. “Are you worried about it?”</p>
<p>He looks back over to you and straightens up, acting confident. “Why would I be? It’s my company.” When you just stare at him he slumps in his seat. “Maybe just a bit.”</p>
<p>“Don’t be. They would need medical proof that you have PTSD, which they don’t have. Even if they had you evaluated they’d come up empty. They can’t lock you out based only on hearsay. The board may have rights, but they only hold so much power. They certainly hold no power over doctors.” He visibly relaxes at your words, the last of his frustration leaking away.</p>
<p>“It sure is nice to have a smart and sexy doctor on your side. Makes me untouchable… unless you’d be up for the job.” He winks playfully at you with a smirk. </p>
<p>You roll your eyes as you feel your cheeks heat up considerably. “I’m technically not that kind of doctor.”</p>
<p>He shrugs. “You easily could be.” He narrows his eyes at you then grins. “Is that a blush I see?”</p>
<p>“I don’t want to go back to college in my late 30s. I’m good with two degrees. That’s all I need.” You shift your eyes from him to the arm still sitting on the table. Deciding to change the subject to avoid answering the question that he already knows the answer to; It’s obvious. “Anyway, what are you working on?” </p>
<p>He eyes you for a long moment before deciding to humor your subject change. He looks over to the arm like he might finally tell you what he’s really up to for a second but “I’m looking into upgrading DUM-E’s arm. I can give him a proper arm rather than a claw. He might finally be useful.” An obvious lie. It's written plain as day on his face.</p>
<p>Disappointment hits you like a brick, he still doesn’t want to tell you. The arm on the table is obviously designed to be worn by a person, like a gauntlet of a suit of armor. It’s not an upgrade for DUM-E. Tony would never even consider changing the bot, no matter how much he complains about him or threatens to donate him. </p>
<p>Tony seems to pick up on your disappointment and sighs. “Ok, it’s not an upgrade for DUM-E. It’s a flight stabilizer.”</p>
<p>You perk up with intense interest. You lean forward to take a closer look, able to determine that on the palm is a repulsor, just like the Jericho missile had but larger and more advanced.  “A flight stabilizer? You’re trying to fly? And you’re using repulsor technology to do it?”</p>
<p>“Yup.” </p>
<p>“Is there another gauntlet? What about boots?” You ask excitedly. It would be amazing to see a person fly without the assistance of wings. Repulsor technology could easily accomplish it if done correctly.</p>
<p>“Yes and yes. That’s all I’m giving you for now.”</p>
<p>“You can’t just leave me hanging on that note!”</p>
<p>“Watch me.”</p>
<p>Despite all of your pouting and begging he wouldn't budge on divulging any more information. At least he finally gave you something. It was a step in the right direction.</p><hr/>
<p>“You have any plans today, Sleeping Beauty?” You look up to see Tony at the entrance of the kitchen. You glance from his jeans and t-shirt to your pajamas. It was well past noon and you had just woken up. Sleeping Beauty is a pretty accurate nickname at the moment.</p>
<p>“Other than sleeping in, which I believe I accomplished, no.” You finish pouring yourself some coffee and lean against the counter facing him. You had been able to take the day off for your birthday and spent the morning snoozing, just as you had been planning for a couple of weeks now. </p>
<p>He claps his hands together. “Great! I don’t like it when you have plans. Go get dressed. We’re going out.” Before you can even get a word of protest out he spins on his heel and strides away, throwing a “Be ready in an hour and meet me out front!” over his shoulder.</p>
<p>After a little bit of grumbling on your part about his bossiness, and chugging down the rest of your coffee, you managed to get ready in a little under an hour. You took a quick shower and dressed in a plain purple t-shirt and jeans, hoping that you didn’t need to dress fancier than that. You head outside as he requested to see him standing by his Audi R8, leaning on the passenger side. He’s still dressed in his t-shirt and jeans, but has also thrown a leather jacket on. His hair is brushed but not styled properly, his bangs hang down onto his forehead. Good to know he wasn’t whisking you away to anywhere fancy. He straightens up when you approach him.</p>
<p>“Where’s Happy?” You had expected him to be there waiting to drive you wherever Tony wanted.</p>
<p>“Not here. It’s just us today.” He pulls open the passenger door. “Get in.”</p>
<p>With a sly side-eye you get in. He shuts the door and hurries around the front. Even after all these years Tony’s bossy nature could still get on your nerves. When he gets in on the driver’s side you turn to him. “Where are we going?”</p>
<p>“You’ll see. Just relax and enjoy the ride.” Your gaze remains on him when you sense a flutter of <i>nervousness</i>. A strange thing to be associated with him. He must feel your studying gaze because he turns to look at you. “What?”</p>
<p>“Nothing. Roll down the windows.” If he doesn’t want to tell you where he’s kidnapping you to, that’s fine. You’ll do as he said and enjoy the ride. He rolls the windows down with a small smile.</p><hr/>
<p>“<i>The zoo</i>?” You ask incredulously when you finally realize where he’s taking you. He pulls into a parking space before turning to face you with a small shrug.</p>
<p>“I know how much you prefer the outdoors since-” He clears his throat and shifts uncomfortably in his seat “-Afghanistan. You’ve seemed tense lately, so I thought spending the day out looking at animals would be a good idea. I reserved the whole zoo so no one but employees should be there. It’ll just be you and I.” He glances over at you taking in your still shocked expression. “But if you don’t want to-”</p>
<p>“It’s an amazing idea, Tony.” You lean across the middle console and kiss his cheek. “Thank you.”</p>
<p>Any nervousness he was feeling seems to melt away. He smiles brightly. “Of course it’s an amazing idea. It was mine after all.”</p>
<p>“Right. That’s why you were so nervous.” You say sarcastically.</p>
<p>“I was not!” He shouts indignantly. He pauses to take in your unimpressed look and gives up. “Maybe a little bit.”</p>
<p>“You can’t hide emotions from me.” You tease lightly. It’s both a blessing and a curse to always know what someone is feeling. You’re still learning to block it out when it’s unwanted or overwhelming.</p>
<p>“Either that’s not entirely accurate or you’re completely oblivious.”</p>
<p>“What?” You furrow your brows in confusion.</p>
<p>A sudden flood of that <i>warmth</i> that only comes from him surges through you. He leans over the console close to your face. His beautiful brown eyes bore into yours. “Tell me what you’re feeling from me right now.”</p>
<p>You cock your head to the side in thought while trying to not focus on his sudden proximity. “I don’t know how to describe it... I’ve only ever been able to think of it as this warm feeling. It’s pleasant. Safe. Comforting. I’ve only ever felt it come from you.” It’s also the best feeling you’ve ever felt from anyone. </p>
<p>He seems to take in your words for a long moment, eyes never leaving yours. He suddenly nods his head and backs off with a soft, somewhat sad, smile on his face. “That’s good to know.”</p>
<p>Before you can ask him what exactly that feeling is, he opens the door and exits the car. He quickly walks around the front and opens your door. He offers a hand to help you out. You raise a brow at him but take it. “You’re being very gentlemanly today.”</p>
<p>He scoffs. “I’m always a gentleman.”</p>
<p>You loop your arm through his offered one and follow his lead towards the entrance. “Most of the time.” You concede. He’s always held respect for you and has never been outright rude, but he does have moments when he just forgets you’re there. At least he used to. “Now let’s go look at the lions.”</p>
<p>The two of you spent the day having fun, intense moment in the car forgotten. You went around the entire zoo and looked at all the animals. The lions roared, the giraffes ate leaves from your hands, Tony tried to stand like a flamingo, a camel spat at him, and he barely managed to dodge a blob of bird poo in the aviary. You got to hold a snake, refused to hold a tarantula, and you got to pet a chinchilla. The best part of the day was Tony throwing you over his shoulder and running into the kid’s small waterpark while the empty zoo rang with echoes of your laughter. You had to air dry before you got back in his car, but it was well worth it. </p>
<p>When you got home that night, the two of you watched a movie. Tony wrapped his arm around your shoulders to pull you close to him on the couch. He kissed your head and leaned his cheek against the top. You eventually fell asleep wrapped up in that wonderful <i>warmth</i> of his, content and happy.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Another chapter up late, but better late than never! Only missed Monday by a half-hour ;p</p>
<p>We're moving along the story. Tony and Ace are suspicious of Obi and know he's the one doing shit. Their relationship is starting to form too ;) Tony is being really bold and obvious, when is Ace gonna realize? He didn't stare into her eyes and tell her to feel his emotions for nothing! Give that damn warm feeling a name woman! </p>
<p>Yes, I just complained about my own character. It's been a long day, don't judge me. </p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0046"><h2>46. Chapter 46</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Taking a much needed break from writing emails, your fingers glided over the keys of the piano playing a simple melody. The notes coming out a little stilted, it had been ages since you last sat down to play. It wasn’t something you did on the regular, just when you had nothing else to do and boredom took hold. Tony’s mom, Maria, had actually been the one to teach you the basics when you first met her, that was about six months before she and Howard died in the car crash. Your fingers pause as you think back to how hard of a time that was for Tony. The amount of times you had to make sure he didn’t choke on his own vomit was ridiculous.</p><p>“Ma’am, I suggest stepping away from the piano immediately.” Not one to ignore JARVIS, no matter how sudden or weird the request was, you quickly stand from the seat and back away. </p><p>Suddenly a flash of silver crashes through the ceiling, right onto the piano, and straight through to the basement causing you to let out a scream. You fall back onto your ass in shock. The sudden build-up of fear leaves you frozen in place staring at the destruction, heart pounding in your ears twice as fast as the car alarms going off below. A low groan coming from the hole snaps you from your dazed state. <i>Tony.</i></p><p>You scramble to your feet and rush towards the hole, careful to avoid the destroyed piano. You look over the edge to see white mist everywhere, DUM-E slightly off to the side spraying a fire extinguisher. Not being able to immediately see Tony sends another jolt of fear down your spine. Hoping he wasn’t crushed beneath whatever just fell through the roof you yell into the hole “Tony!”</p><p>“I’m ok.” His voice is a mere groan with a light metal ting to it. You let out a sigh of relief knowing he wasn’t crushed to death before realizing his voice was coming from directly below you, not somewhere off to the side like you expected. You furrow your brows in confusion. </p><p>“Where are you?”</p><p>“Right here.” A little movement of silver catches your eye, they widen when you realize its a hand. A hand of a suit of armor. Waving lazily at you. DUM-E finally stops spraying the fire extinguisher to reveal the rest of a chrome suit of armor laying on top of a crushed car. That is definitely more than a simple flight suit.</p><p>Another realization hits you then. He just fell through the roof. Who knows how high up he was or how injured he is. “Jesus, Tony! You just <i>fell through the fucking roof!</i> Don’t move until I get there!”</p><p>You hurriedly step around the remains of the piano and rush down the stairs to the workshop. JARVIS unlocks the door for you, with a mumbled thanks you run into the room towards Tony. DUM-E beeps at you happily when you stop in front of Tony. You give him a quick little pat and turn your focus to the idiot in front of you. He doesn’t even give you a chance to speak.</p><p>“I’m ok. Just pull me up.” He holds his arms up towards you expectantly.</p><p>“No, I need to check you for injuries first.”</p><p>“You can’t do that with the suit on.” He wiggles his fingers, knowing he’s won. Sighing heavily, you grab his cool metal hands and easily haul him up. “It’s so useful to have someone with super strength around.”</p><p>“Get it off then sit your ass down.”</p><p>Sensing you weren’t in the mood for jokes he answers promptly. “Yes, ma’am.”</p><p>You trudge over to the couch and sit. Your head falls into your hands, a headache blooming in place of the fading adrenaline. You peek to the side to see him surrounded by metal arms all working together to peel the armor off. You watch with fascination as each piece is taken off until he is standing there in a pair of jeans and grey t-shirt with his arc reactor shining brightly.</p><p>As soon as he is clear of any armor he makes his way to you, sitting hesitantly next to you. Pushing aside all of your questions about the suit to focus on him, you lift your head from your hands and give him a quick look over. Nothing immediately stands out. “Anywhere hurt?”</p><p>“Head and left shoulder.”</p><p>You nod and stand up. You move in front of him and gently take hold of his head. He drops his head to rest his forehead against your chest. You gently prod your fingers around looking for a bump. He winces when you reach the upper left side. You feel more in the area and find a small bump forming. You push his head back and hold a finger up in front of him, moving it side to side then up and down as his eyes follow it. You pull your phone out of your pocket and use the flashlight to check the dilation of his eyes. No concussion. Good.</p><p>You shift over to take a look at his shoulder next. You do the same as you did for his head, gently prodding your fingers around and watching his face for a reaction. He grimaces when you reach the deltoid muscle. You lift his sleeve to reveal a bruise already forming. You release the sleeve and reach down to grab his wrist, resting your other hand on his clavicle. You gently move his arm around checking the mobility, happy to see no hindrance or increase in pain. Ice for both his head and shoulder is all that is required. </p><p>You put his arm back down. “Anything else?”</p><p>He shakes his head. “A little achy everywhere, but no more specifics.”</p><p>“A little ice and you should be good to go.” You move away from him and go to the fridge in the kitchenette. You rummage around in the freezer for the ice packs you know he keeps down here. “You’re lucky JARVIS warned me to move in time.” You pause your movements to glance to the ceiling. “Thank you, J.”</p><p>“It was my pleasure, Ma’am.”</p><p>“You knew I’d fall through and didn’t warn me, JARVIS?” Tony’s voice is tinged in annoyance as he too looks at the ceiling, but with a glare fixed on his face.</p><p>“Based on your previous actions I presumed you wanted to learn the hard way, Sir.”</p><p>JARVIS’ sass draws a smile from you. It was hard to not genuinely love the AI as if he was a person. Tony rolls his eyes at the AI before looking at you warily. “Are you mad?”</p><p>“No, just worried. It would have been nice to know you were at the flying stage before you came crashing through the ceiling.” Finally finding an ice pack for his head you grab it and place it on his head. He holds it there when you let go. You turn around to go back to looking in the freezer. He still needs an ice pack for his shoulder.</p><p>“Fair point.” He grabs your hand with his free one to stop you. “I’m perfectly fine, though.”</p><p>You scoff. “Tell that to the ice on your head and your cold hand.”</p><p>“My hand isn’t cold.”</p><p>“Yet.”</p><p>He narrows his eyes at you, annoyed that you're right. “Whatever. I’m gonna go shower.”  He drops the ice pack on the couch making you roll your eyes. It has definitely not been on long enough to do anything. He stands up and starts heading to the stairs. He pauses before ascending the steps. “I’ll tell you everything about the suit when I get back.” Right. The thing that led to all of this in the first place. “In the meantime… JARVIS give Ace full access to the Mark II blueprints.”</p><p>“Yes, Sir. Ma’am now has unrestricted access to the Mark II schematics.”</p><p>He leaves without another word. You sit in one of the stools near his holographic table and roll over to it. “Show me what you got, J.”</p><p>Immediately the suit pops up over the table, everything involved in it on full display. The first thing you zero in on is the hole in the chestplate. You zoom in on it. The hole is surrounded by a whole bunch of conductors and connectors to carry power to the rest of the suit. His arc reactor is the energy source. Next, you focus on the repulsor system. Then the hud display of the helmet. Soon enough you’re completely absorbed in analyzing every aspect of the suit.</p>
<hr/><p>Eventually you’re rudely ripped from your fascinated haze by a clap of hands. You spin around to see Tony in a forest green shirt and slicked damp hair. Ignoring his slight smirk at scaring you, you gesture towards the display of the suit. “Tony, this is amazing! Why didn’t you tell me about it sooner?”</p><p>He shrugs as he moves to stand behind you, placing his hands on your shoulders. “Didn’t think you’d be on board. Rhodey wasn’t even interested.”</p><p>“I’m not Rhodey.” You snap a little more harshly than you meant. Rhodey was still a bit of a sore spot, the man had yet to apologize for the way he acted the last time you saw him. You knew he was the reason Tony was being so secretive. “I at least have the decency to hear people out on their ideas.”</p><p>Tony gives your shoulders a placating squeeze. “I know. Didn’t want to risk it though.”</p><p>You tip your head back to rest it against his stomach and look up at him. Deciding to stray the conversation away from Rhodey. “How did you come up with this?” </p><p>The suit was truly an engineering marvel. Every single aspect was a result of the pure genius residing in Tony’s mind. No one else could have ever dreamed of making a flying suit of armor become a reality. The fact that he was able to successfully make a completely metal suit defy gravity is amazing. The power required alone was a massive issue, one that Tony was able to overcome by the miniaturized arc reactor. Which had been another feat of his genius. The man himself was as much of a marvel as the suit.</p><p>His hands tighten a bit on your shoulders. “It’s how I escaped the cave.”</p><p>You look back at the suit display shocked. Not only was he finally talking about his time in Afghanistan but  “You made this in a cave?!”</p><p>“Well, a very bulky and less advanced one. But, essentially, yes I did.”</p><p>You lean your head back again. “You never cease to amaze me.”</p><p>He smirks down at you at your remark. It obviously went straight to his ego. It’s only there for a moment though. It fades away and his eyes adopt a faraway look. <i>Grief</i> making an appearance. “I had some help.”</p><p>You immediately understand. There had been another prisoner. One he had bonded with, like you had with Fatima, Amir, and Malik. One he had also lost, like you had lost Fatima. Your experiences were even more alike than you had thought. It broke your heart.</p><p>He tugs on your shoulders to pull you off of your seat. Silently, he steers you to the couch and settles close to you, arms touching, looking at the ground in front of him. He gathers his thoughts before speaking quietly. “His name was Yinsen. He’s the one who saved my life. Put an electromagnet in my chest, hooked to a car battery for power.” He scoffs sardonically. “I hated carrying that thing around.”</p><p>He’s silent for another long time. Staring blankly at the ground. Reliving the memories of his time in captivity. Various emotions flashing through him; <i>Anger, sadness, pain, grief.</i> It was like a loop.</p><p>“There was a point I was afraid it’d short-circuit. I was being waterboarded, tortured because I refused to build them the Jericho.” You close your eyes against the sting of tears coming to them. Now was the time for you to be the strong one. He pauses again. “They had <i>so many</i> of my weapons. Crates upon crates of them. All stacked up and ready to be used at a moment’s notice.”</p><p>Now you fully understood exactly why he shut down weapon manufacturing. It wasn’t just because he got blown up by his own missile. It was because of the sheer amount of his weapons he saw in the hands of the terrorists. Because of the pain and suffering the weapons he created for peace caused.</p><p>“I pretended to agree to build the Jericho. I thought I was going to die either way, the car battery I was hooked up to wouldn’t have lasted much longer. I saw no harm in simply wasting their time as I waited for it to die. Yinsen was the one who convinced me to fight back. I came up with the mini arc to replace the battery, and that led me to the suit. We built it instead of the missile.” He clears his throat. ”When the time came to escape we had a plan. Yinsen was supposed to follow me out when I cleared the way. But-” His voice becomes more choked as he speaks. “We ran out of time. He sacrificed himself so I could get out.” He finally turns to look at you, his eyes filled with unshed tears. “His last words to me were <i>‘Don’t waste your life’.</i>”</p><p>That’s when you break. No longer able to just sit there and listen, you pull him into your arms. Everything made sense now. The new drive and purpose since his return. His increased amount of affection and attention. The underlying <i>pain</i> and <i>grief</i> you’ve caught glimpses of occasionally. Even his future plans for the suit were obvious now. He’s not wasting his life.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Tony has finally (if not a little forcefully since you can't exactly hide falling through the ceiling in a suit of armor) come clean! He also finally told Ace about what happened in Afghanistan, even if it was a pretty watered-down version. </p><p>Wonder what he'll reveal next? ;)</p><p>Also, I love writing sassy Jarvis.</p>
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